Proud of MN and WI players and fans

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Rodent

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I know many of you won’t want to hear this, but I was quite proud of Minnesota and Wisconsin while attending the game in Madison.

1. Winning and losing players conducted themselves appropriately after the game in stark contrast to OSU/Michigan, Auburn/Alabama, UNC/NC State, ASU/Arizona, etc. today.

2. Fans in my section as well as those I encountered before and after the game were friendly and kind to each other. In fact, I met lots of mixed groups of red and maroon friends and families. (Yes, I know you think Badgers are A-holes, but the Gophers and Badgers I met were great.)

T’was nice to see.
 

I only saw the Michigan, OSU deal and it was really bad, I was embarrassed and I really don’t care who won the game. Some heads should roll after that, having to deploy pepper spray after a football game is…..a bad step. I just read about the NC, NCS flag planting,
I didn’t hear about the others. The older I get the more pathetic this gets.
 

Rodent said:
1. Winning and losing players conducted themselves appropriately after the game in stark contrast to OSU/Michigan, Auburn/Alabama, UNC/NC State, ASU/Arizona, etc. today.
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I've been thinking about this a lot this afternoon/ evening. So many of these games ending with a lot of fake toughness. (And the Nebraska/ Iowa game starting with it yesterday). I get that it's rivalry weekend and tempers flare, but come on.

I know this is the type of behavior that is accepted (or maybe encouraged is the better word) on social media, but it's just so played out. It's like when high school kids get into a fight, but they're just waiting for the teachers to break it up hoping they actually don't have to physically interact.

So, I wonder what would happen if we were playing a team that tried to instigate like so many did today. (I'm assuming we wouldn't because frankly I don't think Fleck would allow it. He'd be the first one yelling at anyone getting heated to get in the locker room, unlike Day pretending he didn't know anything was going on). Would we retaliate? Would Fleck's culture win out and we would just back out of the situation? Thoughts?
 

I suspect that the various conference commissioners will come out with sternly worded statements proclaiming that the "Planting the Flag" routine has been outlawed, and any team that attempts it going forward will be met with "severe consequences."

of course, if they wanted to have real consequences, they would withhold TV money from the teams involved, because that is really the only thing that matters in today's D1 world.
 

Rodent said:
I know many of you won’t want to hear this, but I was quite proud of Minnesota and Wisconsin while attending the game in Madison.

1. Winning and losing players conducted themselves appropriately after the game in stark contrast to OSU/Michigan, Auburn/Alabama, UNC/NC State, ASU/Arizona, etc. today.

2. Fans in my section as well as those I encountered before and after the game were friendly and kind to each other. In fact, I met lots of mixed groups of red and maroon friends and families. (Yes, I know you think Badgers are A-holes, but the Gophers and Badgers I met were great.)

T’was nice to see.
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Actually been to Camp Randall three times and all three were better than any of the four times at Kinnick. Some very good Iowa fans but I feel a higher percentage of bad fans.
 


Speaking of planting the flag, I do believe it was Lawrence Maroney who planted the Block M flag on the 50 yard line at Michigan Stadium in 2005. The Michigan players did not appreciate that move at all. No fisticuffs as I recall but still considered somewhat tacky.
 

I wonder what if anything will happen to these players? I can't get over the feeling if pepper spray had to used at a Gopher game, every player involved in the fight would be suspended by the NCAA....but since it's OSU and Michigan, nothing will happen.

It seems ridiculous that you suspend/kick out a player for targeting, but openly fighting after a game is over results in no penalty at all.
 

BilldGopher said:
Speaking of planting the flag, I do believe it was Lawrence Maroney who planted the Block M flag on the 50 yard line at Michigan Stadium in 2005. The Michigan players did not appreciate that move at all. No fisticuffs as I recall but still considered somewhat tacky.
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I was there and I believe your description covers the way it was.

Nothing good is apt to ever come from the act of flag planting…
 




BigSchmidty17 said:
Actually been to Camp Randall three times and all three were better than any of the four times at Kinnick. Some very good Iowa fans but I feel a higher percentage of bad fans.
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Had my car “egged” at a parking lot on the Iowa campus. So’ from that point in time I decided to arrive in IowaCity early enough to get into a Parking ramp owned by the city downtown and caught the free bus to the campus. I usually just strolled back with the crowd down town to let the traffic thin out after the game, grab a bite to eat and head back to Minnesota. I guess I learned my lesson early on. problem solved. However, I also learned to stay in downtown for a while, eat a meal and then the traffic heading out of town was moving pretty well.

At my current age of 77 plus mostof my football watching these game days is done from the comfort of my home. My last bowl game was in Tampa Bay vs. Auburn at the end of 2019. Had a lot of fun road-tripping to Gopher games over many decades though… Now less night driving makes a lot more sense for me.
 
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cheeseheadgophfan said:
I wonder what if anything will happen to these players? I can't get over the feeling if pepper spray had to used at a Gopher game, every player involved in the fight would be suspended by the NCAA....but since it's OSU and Michigan, nothing will happen.

It seems ridiculous that you suspend/kick out a player for targeting, but openly fighting after a game is over results in no penalty at all.
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Punishing middling teams is no risk. Punishing brand names might cost them ratings, etc. With freedom of movement for players and openly pay for play, one would think college sport’s corruption and hypocrisy might diminish but these sorts of things give them a whole new playing field to demonstrate their ability to hose the little guys and turn away from the money makers.
 

Given the amount of tv coverage on viewer/hostage-supported ESPN and BTN this is considered “good tv” in terms of drawing eyeballs. Watching the coaches..these milquetoast coaches on both sides have minimal control of their players. This is the state of things. The tear gas was a (relatively safe) nice touch; german shepherds and mounted police (stallions?) may have been a bridge too far. Maybe next year. Networks would love it.
 




If I recall correctly, there were some shenanigans in the Gopher/Badger game either early in the Fleck era or late in the Kill/Claeys era where one of the teams didn't appreciate the axe chopping in the home endzone near the students. There must have been some "coaching" of conduct since then.

I feel that neither Fleck nor Chryst would ever put up with that. Not so sure about Fickell.
 

Panthadad2 said:
If I recall correctly, there were some shenanigans in the Gopher/Badger game either early in the Fleck era or late in the Kill/Claeys era where one of the teams didn't appreciate the axe chopping in the home endzone near the students. There must have been some "coaching" of conduct since then.

I feel that neither Fleck nor Chryst would ever put up with that. Not so sure about Fickell.
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This was Wisconsin chopping the goalpost down next to the MN student section while the band was playing the school hymn. They did change the way trophy games are conducted in that the trophy has been moved away from the team’s bench to the end zone to avoid potential confrontations.
 

oak_street1981 said:
I have been to Kinnick and Camp Randall many times and always been generally ignored, or treated with respect. The worst Iowa and Wisconsin fans ever encountered were at that that wretched Metrodome. Now at HBS they are normal again, and there are many less of them, but the Metrodome brought out some horrible things.
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This has been my experience as well. I saw far worse things (consistently) from Wisconsin and Iowa fans in and around the Metrodome than I ever did at Kinnick, Camp Randall, or at MN after 2009.
 

We have been to Madtown a number of times over the years but due to moving the game to TDay weekend those trips ended. I went Friday with my son and two pre-teen boys who live in Fond du lac and I had some real concerns based on our past experiences. However, the WI crowd was very well mannered as described by others. Almost passive, reserved and respectful. I guess losing does that to WI fans who we have often witnessed as being overly obnoxious and over bearing.

My two 10 and 12 year old grandsons are now Gopher fans, have a true understanding and knowledge of the Axe, its history and the significance of the long standing Gopher/Badger rivalry as do my adult children.
 

What an embarrassing day For Ryan Day! He just stood there and watched his players fighting with security requiring pepper spray to be deployed. Then he defends his team in press conference stating they have pride and actions were basically justified. He should be fired
 


short ornery norwegian said:
I suspect that the various conference commissioners will come out with sternly worded statements proclaiming that the "Planting the Flag" routine has been outlawed, and any team that attempts it going forward will be met with "severe consequences."

of course, if they wanted to have real consequences, they would withhold TV money from the teams involved, because that is really the only thing that matters in today's D1 world.
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If they think starting a fight is a reasonable response to having flag planted, they need to ban planting the flag or maybe even ban teams from bringing flags on the field post-game. From the OSU response, they seem like they're trying to portray Michigan as the bad guys for starting it all, but as far as I know there's no rule against planting the flag and OSU were the ones to turn taunting and trash talking into a physical fight. I'd rather see them allow anything non-physical and harshly punish whoever turns it physical but if they want to crack down on the taunting, there should be clear rules.

Fox posted the video of the fight to Twitter and Youtube shortly after the game though so it will be hard to take conferences or the NCAA seriously if they try to crack down and speak out on this. It can't be both a horrible thing that you want to avoid and part of your marketing at the same time.
 

Panthadad2 said:
If I recall correctly, there were some shenanigans in the Gopher/Badger game either early in the Fleck era or late in the Kill/Claeys era where one of the teams didn't appreciate the axe chopping in the home endzone near the students. There must have been some "coaching" of conduct since then.

I feel that neither Fleck nor Chryst would ever put up with that. Not so sure about Fickell.
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Fickell was an Ohio state player and coach. There is that factor, I suppose. Although I might be making too many assumptions. He was on “sweater guy’s…” coaching staff I guess. it seemed as though Tressel (sp?) never seemed to know what was going on between his players and the boosters when he was removed as head coach at TOSU. Guess he thought if Alvarez could achieve saint-hood in spite of the Ron Dayne “…Shoe-Box…” pipeline days that maybe Madison had the potential to be supportive the same way some of the pool halls and tattoo joints in Columbus were during the Sweater Vest national championship era days he recalled at C-bus city booster club fund-raiser events that nobody knew anything about. ;0)

Little Luke will quite possibly survive for a few more years in Madison. There aren’t that many coaches of his age who have experience taking a program like Cincinnati to a spot in a NC Football “final four” play-off. And retooling a program with an identity like Wisconsin as the “… monsters of the midwest road- grading and moving company…”takes time and a hell of a lot of support, money and humility and lots of losses, most likely.
 
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BigSchmidty17 said:
Actually been to Camp Randall three times and all three were better than any of the four times at Kinnick. Some very good Iowa fans but I feel a higher percentage of bad fans.
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Iowa and Wisconsin are exact opposite

At Wisconsin the older timer fans are great and the young fans used to be the worst. Possible they’ve become less horrible since they haven’t won as much. I haven’t been to Madison since 2016.

At Iowa, the young fans are fine but the old timer fans are whiny and insulting
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
“I know many of you won’t want to hear this” then says something no one disagrees with.

I think one great thing about Flecks era here is the team seems to be full of good people and they generally do the right thing.
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Sorry for the false prediction. Given past dialogue here, I wouldn’t have thought most would have the discipline to think objectively about Wisconsin much less fold them in a complement with Minnesota. I’m delighted to have been shown wrong.
 

Schnauzer said:
This was Wisconsin chopping the goalpost down next to the MN student section while the band was playing the school hymn. They did change the way trophy games are conducted in that the trophy has been moved away from the team’s bench to the end zone to avoid potential confrontations.
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Yes, that game was where the "old" tradition of the visiting victor chopping the goalposts ran into the "new" tradition of playing Hail Minnesota in the east end zone after each game. So that was Brewster's fault for not thinking it through...:p

Even last year when Sconnie won at TCF there were some Badger players who wanted to chop the East Goalpost while Hail Minnesota was being played. Fortunately no others would join and it did not happen until the Minnesota team had gone into the tunnel.

If the Minnesota-Wisconsin solution on agreeing on how to retrieve The Axe were to be applied here, then there would be agreement of no flag planting to flag-planting in the end zone or maybe at the visitors' 20 yard line or similar. Of course I believe this is overkill however the giant college team flag is a big part of the tribal symbolism of this hallowed American sport. I am sure the O-H-I-O State players were truly pissed at this...and in our "you dissed me" culture emotions boiled over in an instant.

We shall see how big the brains, hearts, and balls of those who control this sport are here. Because having riots after games is to be discouraged, something should be done. But will it, and if yes, what will it look like?
 

Panthadad2 said:
If I recall correctly, there were some shenanigans in the Gopher/Badger game either early in the Fleck era or late in the Kill/Claeys era where one of the teams didn't appreciate the axe chopping in the home endzone near the students. There must have been some "coaching" of conduct since then.

I feel that neither Fleck nor Chryst would ever put up with that. Not so sure about Fickell.
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Don’t remember the year but it was kill/claeys era
Was either 15 or 13 I think
 


My theory is that those who travel are disproportionately represented by the worst among their respective fan base. I’ve attended road games (many more than once) at every B10 school prior to the explosion and have been received well—if not generously—by each host. Last week, however, there were Peen State fans behind me who shameful and the Iowa fans were insufferable consistent with past years and other visitors. I’ve never understood behaving anything other than graciously when visiting someone else’s home while wearing your school’s color, but I am admittedly old and out of touch.
 

I used to like to cause chaos and provoke the opposing fans. I am 45 years old now. The kids playing the game are young enough to be my kids. I just wish people could go to the game, cheer for their team, have fun, and through the entire game, laugh, enjoy the banter, and cheer as everyone's just there to watch kids play a game
 

Rodent said:
My theory is that those who travel are disproportionately represented by the worst among their respective fan base. I’ve attended road games (many more than once) at every B10 school prior to the explosion and have been received well—if not generously—by each host. Last week, however, there were Peen State fans behind me who shameful and the Iowa fans were insufferable consistent with past years and other visitors. I’ve never understood behaving anything other than graciously when visiting someone else’s home while wearing your school’s color, but I am admittedly old and out of touch.
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Outside Lois Feldman's tryst at the Dome the lowest of the lows for I-O-W-A fans the Billd's have witnessed at TCF was when the Hawks first visited with Coach Kill at the helm. In that game an overserved Hawk fan started barking about Kill having a seizure and epilepsy for whatever insult was being intended. Several Gopher fans got in his face as he'd been at it most of the game and that was the last straw. Security came and he settled down but his behavior was reprehensible.
 

mnsportsgeek said:
So funny when losing teams get all fussy when someone does something as innocuous as plant a flag.

It’s part of the deal. Get out of the way and take the L.
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I don’t really get needing to plant it.
But I REALLY don’t get needing to be angry about it
 

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