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Dueling Column: Entitlement is Wolverines' biggest flaw

October 13, 2011

Anthony Odoardi

What’s more sickening? That Michigan is ranked No. 11 in the country, or that I offer the newspaper I saw those rankings in as toilet paper for my apartment? (No, it’s not the Michigan Daily. But if you have any extras, I’ll take them.)

The Associated Press needs the Red Sox treatment after that one. Clear house. Give those votes to someone unbiased, who doesn’t believe Michigan should jump seven places because they beat the Big Ten’s worst team, 58-0.

Big win against Minnesota, huh? Well, I guess if you don’t count their losses to New Mexico State, North Dakota State and Purdue — another poor Big Ten team — it’s justified.

But you know what, we’re OK over here in East Lansing. It will just make it that much sweeter Saturday, when the “Little Sister” chants ring throughout Spartan Stadium (thanks for that Mike Hart, how’s Eastern Michigan going for you? And what the hell is a quality control coach?) and Paul Bunyan look-alike Joel Foreman hoists the trophy for a fourth straight year.

I know, I know, then we will go drink and party and riot and burn couches and (insert bad joke here). Your insults remind me of your co-eds: No matter how hard they try, they still look like Rosie O’Donnell.

You find your jokes about us to be funny and insulting. We just find them funny.

It’s one of those things where your buddies will go “OOOOOOH, BURNED!” and then you start to think about it and say, “Wait? They actually party AND have girls that don’t look like Kelly Osbourne in East Lansing?!”

Still, you Wolverines think you just do it so much better down there in Ann Arbor.

But I can go on for hours with the routine stuff, how the girls are ugly, how the team is overrated and how they actually have the audacity to refer to themselves as “The Harvard of the Midwest,” but I want to get to what really bothers me about U-M.

I sent out a text to my friends yesterday with one simple request: “Tell me why you hate Michigan.” And in each one of their responses was the word “entitlement” (except for one who said “because they wear short shorts.” He was dead serious too, but he’s a story for another time).

It’s so true. If you don’t go to U-M, you’re a joke to them, no matter if it was MSU or any other school in the Big Ten. You’re not serious in sports, academics, the professional world, anything.

No matter how long the Spartans continue their recent domination of the series, MSU will never be considered a rival by you self-entitled students, alumni and people who once watched the Wolverines on TV and became fans.

The Big House had its first game under the lights. The students felt they were entitled to parade around the streets of Ann Arbor as though no team had ever played a night game before.

Or how about Denard Robinson? That guy is entitled to a Heisman Trophy. He might have the most interceptions (9) in the NCAA, but that guy is the “best player in the league.”

He might be exciting, but I’ll stick with a guy like Kirk Cousins, one whose Twitter hacking might go a little more like “Hi. Yes, I hacked you lol. You are the nicest person I have ever met in my entire life! Your beautiful eyes and pearly white teeth make me wish we were in a relationship!”

Athletes such as Cousins, as well as coaches such as Mark Dantonio, Tom Izzo, Suzy Merchant — and even coaches of the smaller sports like Tom Saxton and Cathy George — are leading the charge to repaint this state green.

So MSU fans, feel free to invite your U-M friends over Saturday (maybe ask them to bring some Big Ten Burrito because that place is delicious), give them a seat on the couch and let them watch the game with you because the only thing they’re entitled to this weekend is a fourth straight embarrassment.

And eventually, they’ll recognize who their real rivals are.

Anthony Odoardi is a State News football reporter. He can be reached at odoardia@msu.edu.

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