brainsplotch

A pictures tells a 1000 words. Not much for me to add, except that I'm one happy MSU alumnus right now!

Tomorrow's the big game between MSU and Michigan and I have continually mulled the game over in my head for the last week: My entire adult life, forty years and change total, the Michigan Wolverines have fielded a generally strong football team, usually contending for a Big Ten title. I can think of only one season in which they were truly mediocre: 1984. That was the year that quarterback Jim Harbaugh broke his arm in the MSU game and was out the rest of the year (see my post, "Spartan Memories Volume 2" below). The Wolvies finished 6-6 that season. Based on Michigan's incredible run of consistent excellence going all the way back to Bump Elliott's last year in '68, it's hard for me to fathom that they are so seemingly AWFUL this year. I continue to be nervous about State's chances in tomorrow's game, but then I remind myself that Michigan lost to a bad MAC team (Toledo) AT HOME! (To put Toledo's mediocrity in perspective, the Rockets have a r...

...so it is for now. I do actually have a life outside of MSU football, and if the Spartans die against Michigan this Saturday (and their season goes south--which, let's face it, very well could happen) I will spend more time writing about other subjects. I tend to become obsessed with things for short periods of time, and then move on to other areas. As for now, I am all about MSU football. As I've written before, it has thus far proven to be excellect escapism. I watched Brian Matthews interview with McCain and Palin on the NBC Nightly News. They spent most of the interview talking about Bill Ayers. Is that all they have? Hasn't it pretty much been established that America as a whole doesn't give a hoot about Obama's relationship with Ayers. The way McCain and Palin talked about him, you'd think they were running against Ayers and not Obama. I'm so ready for this election to be over!

On October 6, 1984, Michigan State defeated Michigan 19-7 in Ann Arbor, thus ending a six-game losing streak to the Wolverines. At the time, I was a 16 year-old 11th grader living in Michigan's Thumb amongst hordes of what are, these days, known as "WalMart Wolverines". To say the least, I was ecstatic after MSU's win. (Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see the game on TV because I was working that day--in order to make money to attend MSU two years later. In those days, MSU's public televison station WKAR showed replays of Spartan football games late Saturday night, so I'm pretty sure I was at least able to see the game that way). When I was in eleventh grade, my English teacher required us all to keep a journal for the entire school year. At the time, I considered it a pain and a nuisance, but I thank her now because I have so much fun going back and reading the stuff I wrote back then. I thought it might be fun to share my journal entry for October 6, 19...

Late last week, I started reading Duffy Daugherty's autobiography, published in 1974, entitled simply, Duffy . After reading some some typically insane, irate comments from MSU "fans" angry as hell over the Ohio State loss, I came across something in Duffy's book that can be applied to these fans. Duffy actually wrote this in regard to unrealistic expectations of media, but it also accurately describes many fans. Here's what Duffy said, "Quite often, a writer or broadcaster will want you to win so badly that he'll expect you to, even when you're saddled with a mediocre team. Then, when you don't do as well as he expected, he'll rip your guts out because of his own disappointment." Spartan fans, I know you're disappointed that the team didn't beat Ohio State (and, did not even make it a game). Sometimes, you bump into a team that's just flat out better than your team. That's life. Now, I wouldn't necessarily classify t...

First the good news, it was a lovely, sunny day in the Lansing area today. Now the bad news, Ohio State kicked MSU's tail today. This was one ugly game. So ugly that I pretty much turned it off at halftime and only tuned in sporadically in the second half to see how bad the carnage was. Wow, I feel a little foolish to have ever doubted Ohio State. How in heaven's name did they ever lose 35-3 to USC? (Yeah, I know, unsettled quarterback situation, Beanie Wells hurt, etc. But still, is USC that good to have hammered OSU that badly? How the heck did USC then lose to a mediocre Oregon State team? I'll have to save that for a different discussion). As the Lansing State Journal's Joe Rexrode wrote, it was a "reality check" for MSU. Yes, they have improved, but they are not yet close to being in Ohio State's league. Perhaps if the Spartans had caught the Buckeyes earlier in the year, they could have won this game, but Ohio State has had some tim...

Allow me to take a break from football for a second and get on my political soapbox. On Wednesday, Barack Obama and John McCain had their third and final debate. Perhaps I'm a tad biased, since I'm an unapologetic liberal , but I continue to be impressed by the stately and, well, presidential, demeanor of Barack Obama. I have also been consistently struck by how angry John McCain always seems to be: angry at Obama (whom he treats like a wayward adolescent) and angry with any nation or leader who dares disagree with the United States. Do we really need or want an angry President? I will be casting my vote for Obama for one basic reason: I agree with his beliefs and do not agree with those of McCain. That is why I have voted for Dukakis (lost), Clinton (won twice), Gore (lost), and Kerry (lost). (As you can see by that record, being a Democratic supporter is not too much different from being a Spartan football fan). If you're reading this post, and you're still undecide...

As much as I've tried not to, I have been obsessing over tomorrow's MSU/OSU game since... well, since about a half hour after the MSU/Northwestern game. The Spartans have a legitimate shot in this game, and let's face it--a victory over the Buckeyes would be huge for this program. I am trying not to get my hopes up. As a longtime Spartan football fan, I have been conditioned to keep my expectations as low as possible so that when the inevitable disappointment occurs, it doesn't hurt as bad. Still, I am greatly encouraged by the progress of this football program under Dantonio. I have no doubt that the guys will be ready to play tomorrow. If State can contain Beanie Wells and force Terrelle Pryor into bad decisions, while maintaining the excellent special teams play we've gotten so far this year, it could be a very happy day for the folks in green and white.

I am getting excited about this MSU football season, and this feeling is both exhilarating and a little scary. I, like many other Spartan fans, have been burned too many times before--but something seems different about this year. (Am I crazy to feel this way?) The Spartans have been mentally prepared for every game they've played, and have consistently made the big and important plays exactly when they've needed them. As far as the Northwestern game goes, the Spartans set the tone immediately by jumping all over the Wildcats in the first quarter. By the time Northwestern woke up, they were down by 17 and could never get back in the game. But what is particularly impressive about Michigan State is the way they consistently responded to every score Northwestern made. When the Wildcats finally got on the scoreboard to make it a 17-7 game, State immediately marched dowfield, scored a touchdown, and went into intermission up 24-7. Then, when Northwestern took the second half k...

In keeping with the Michigan State football theme that I seemed to have established thus far with this blog, I might as well keep the ball rolling, so to speak. I never consciously aimed to make this a "Spartan football blog," but with our nation's economy in utter shambles, and the election year increasing in intensity and nastiness, my mind really craves escapism lately. For the moment, MSU football is providing that escapism. So why not escape along with me? I have been mulling this idea around in my head for awhile, and was actually going to start it prior to the Indiana game. However, it wasn't until now that I have finally got around to doing a little feature that I will call "My Spartan Memories." I hope all of my one or two readers out there in cyberspace enjoy it. Michigan State will be playing the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston tomorrow, so this is a perfect opportunity to reflect back on the very first MSU football game I ever att...

Right now, I'm cleaning out my garage and listening to the Detroit Lions game on the radio. Why put myself through the torture you ask? I am finding it incredibly entertaining to hear the Lions' broadcast crew of Dan Miller and Jim Brandstatter describe the massacre against the Bears. First of all, you'd think the Lions were playing in the Super Bowl the way these guys describe the action. Plus, it's always fun to hear Brandy get indignant over the officials' "bad calls." Dan Miller is probably the Lions' biggest cheerleader, but even he is being critical of the Lions' horrendous play. It's a little bit later in the day now, and the Lions lost 34-7 to the Bears at Ford Field. I think this franchise has officially hit rock bottom (which is saying a lot when you consider how godawful they have been for so many years) . Not only are they losing every game, but they aren't even competitive. It's so sad and pathetic that I, as a fan, have re...

I am a graduate of Michigan State University (if you have not already guessed) and have lived in the greater Lansing area for the better part of 27 years. In all that time, I had never once attended the MSU Homecoming Parade...until this Friday, that is. I really had a good time (except for the parts where I had to make sure my kids didn't get by a car trying to get from our car to the parade, and the parts where I had to temper my kids' ravenous appetite for the candy being thrown from the paraders). A few weeks ago, while watching an episode of the childrens show "Oswald" with my younger son, Oswald and his friends attend (and maybe even become part of --I don't remember precisely) a parade. My son immediately decided that he wanted to see a parade. My mind raced through a list of potential parades and, lo and behold, struck upon the Homecoming parade. "There's a parade next month, and we can go to that one," I said to my son. Later, I told my wife...