Taking a spin around the B1G fan forums

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I could easily see the Big Ten powers telling both teams on the down low "Do not put the JUG on the line and do not talk about the JUG". They wouldn't like the optics of a team just winning the conference and being more interesting parading around a 120 year old drinking JUG than the "Dr Pepper Big Ten Championship Trophy"
 


DarrenTheGreek said:
I could easily see the Big Ten powers telling both teams on the down low "Do not put the JUG on the line and do not talk about the JUG". They wouldn't like the optics of a team just winning the conference and being more interesting parading around a 120 year old drinking JUG than the "Dr Pepper Big Ten Championship Trophy"
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Unfortunately this makes a lot of sense.
 




Schnauzer said:
The MSU beatdown in the 2:30 time slot registered with a lot of people that post on fan forums around the Big Ten.

Almost every Big Ten West (and a few East) boards have some sort of "Minnesota looks good" or "Fleck" thread and they are driving a lot of posts. Lots of opinions. The amount of attention within the conference directed at the Gophers skyrocketed during/after the MSU game.

In a nutshell, people were impressed by how thoroughly the Gophers were beating MSU, and commonly focused on the O line and what a good job Fleck has done building the team. There is a lot of conversation about "Are the Gophers that good or MSU that bad?" All in all, a fair amount of respect shown by the opposing fan bases.

The strongest themes involve Fleck. A very common viewpoint that he is an azzhole, jerk, etc. but apparently begrudgingly "can coach." It amazes me how thoroughly he drives negative reactions in opposing fans. They absolutely HATE him. I was thinking... other than a veiled shot at Frost "culture over talent", I can't think of many (any?) things he has said that would trigger other fan bases. He is usually very complimentary of Gopher opponents and their coaches. But, the hatred just flows and he really gets under people's skin! Almost every compliment directed at him was carefully balanced with some form of "don't get me wrong, he is still a jerk" comment.
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It's funny, I see PJ as a gentleman and caring person. Far from a jerk. Just consider how he handled the Jerry Kill matter.
 

Schnauzer said:
The MSU beatdown in the 2:30 time slot registered with a lot of people that post on fan forums around the Big Ten.

Almost every Big Ten West (and a few East) boards have some sort of "Minnesota looks good" or "Fleck" thread and they are driving a lot of posts. Lots of opinions. The amount of attention within the conference directed at the Gophers skyrocketed during/after the MSU game.

In a nutshell, people were impressed by how thoroughly the Gophers were beating MSU, and commonly focused on the O line and what a good job Fleck has done building the team. There is a lot of conversation about "Are the Gophers that good or MSU that bad?" All in all, a fair amount of respect shown by the opposing fan bases.

The strongest themes involve Fleck. A very common viewpoint that he is an azzhole, jerk, etc. but apparently begrudgingly "can coach." It amazes me how thoroughly he drives negative reactions in opposing fans. They absolutely HATE him. I was thinking... other than a veiled shot at Frost "culture over talent", I can't think of many (any?) things he has said that would trigger other fan bases. He is usually very complimentary of Gopher opponents and their coaches. But, the hatred just flows and he really gets under people's skin! Almost every compliment directed at him was carefully balanced with some form of "don't get me wrong, he is still a jerk" comment.
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yeah, actually I don't get that criticism of Fleck. I can see people saying he's corny with his catch phrases, or that he's all hat, no cattle (a tougher criticism to make in light of the team's performance of late). But I've never really detected him being an a-hole at all. As you noted, he regularly speaks kindly of opponents. I really don't get the "jerk" label.
 

BilldGopher said:
I have heard sometime that such a match would not be a Jug game. but that's all I've got.

That offered, it would be great to have it being for two trophies and not just some type of silver or glass monument.
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I recall Harbaugh once offhandedly opining that a B1G championship game was not a Jug game (Michigan was then holding the Jug). Personally, a game is a game. Anytime we play Michigan, it should be a trophy game and the Jug should be on the line. Why wouldn't a B1G championship game be a trophy game? Seems like a perfect setting--two trophies on the line.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
I recall Harbaugh once offhandedly opining that a B1G championship game was not a Jug game (Michigan was then holding the Jug). Personally, a game is a game. Anytime we play Michigan, it should be a trophy game and the Jug should be on the line. Why wouldn't a B1G championship game be a trophy game? Seems like a perfect setting--two trophies on the line.
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Yeah, I hope we would play for it. Even if you don't have it on the field, at least let it exchange hands and be updated with the score.
 



lets be honest, if PJ coached another B1GW we wouldn't like him or his schtick and it's ok others dont

I do get annoyed by the PJ is about PJ and he's just used cars salesman though
 

Gophers1992 said:
Opposing fans are also going out of their way to downplay the job PJ has done here. I see a lot of "he inherited a 9 win team" and "he is barely winning more than the guys before him". Which may appear accurate on the surface but anyone with knowledge knows the program was not left in great shape for him - on or off the field.
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Yeah I see that too. Yes he did inherit a 9 win team. But had a coaching change never have happened who knows when another 9 win season would have occurred. I think we all expected regression regardless. Fleck has the program at a point where 9 wins is where the bar is basically set every year, and I don’t foresee anything less in the near future at this point.
 

swelna said:
Yeah, I hope we would play for it. Even if you don't have it on the field, at least let it exchange hands and be updated with the score.
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At the very least -- how else am I going to see it at the state fair!?
 

RememberMurray said:
This sounds correct to me, especially the bolded part of your post. Michigan would (probably) have the final say.

I could imagine Michigan taking a lot of abuse from Minnesota fans if the Wolverines said, "Nope; we're not playing for The Jug this time. So there!"

It's a trophy that goes to the winner of the Minnesota-Michigan contest. Why bother to have a trophy if one team or the other can simply choose to hold on to the Jug, win or lose?
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If that is the case, It's pretty much a no-win situation for Michgan. Not putting it up would be seen as thinking they could lose, putting it up AND THEN losing it is not a good outcome either.
 



I would be surprised if they do not win the West. Other teams appear to be falling apart and we have a seasoned team.
 

Stan said:
Thanks OP, always interesting to hear what other forums say. I don’t understand the hatred, people can’t get past superficial aspects. I can’t imagine a better fit for our program than Fleck.
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Honestly, the hatred is probably driven almost entirely by historical perception. The fans that hate him have become accustomed to Minnesota being a lower-mid level B1G program and are not comfortable with having MN be a contender. Call it jealousy, whatever you want, the anger is with the success, not so much the person/coach.
 

salzie said:
lets be honest, if PJ coached another B1GW we wouldn't like him or his schtick and it's ok others dont

I do get annoyed by the PJ is about PJ and he's just used cars salesman though
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I think being annoyed with him or just not liking his personality is one thing. I totally get that.

But the pure hate some appear to have with him as if he's Bobby Knight or something is ridiculous.
 

I in some ways compare it to Boise State before they won the Fiesta Bowl. I guess even some after that. Need a division title first, then a conf title, then things will change. Otherwise it will take years of high performances.
 


RememberMurray said:
Calling Fleck a 'jerk' without giving any reason is odd. But then, some people are just weird.
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An acquaintance of mine from Wisconsin hates PJ Fleck with a passion because of this (see Fleck's reaction to the INT right around the 1:32 mark...4 years later he still brings it up :)).
 

Allshade said:
It's funny, I see PJ as a gentleman and caring person. Far from a jerk. Just consider how he handled the Jerry Kill matter.
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Or that thing (last August?) where he had all the players write cards to some newspaper because one of the sports reporters died or something? I just remember a thread on here acknowledging how cool it was. Or the Casey O'Brien extra point hold in 2019. I'm sure all the Fleck-haters just kinda mute that out since it doesn't fit the narrative.

The Nebraska fans used to hate and rip him with some of the best and now their message board threads are about trying to get him there lol.
 

FredCoxRocks said:
An acquaintance of mine from Wisconsin hates PJ Fleck with a passion because of this (see Fleck's reaction to the INT right around the 1:32 mark...4 years later he still brings it up :)).
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FredCoxRocks said:
An acquaintance of mine from Wisconsin hates PJ Fleck with a passion because of this (see Fleck's reaction to the INT right around the 1:32 mark...4 years later he still brings it up :)).
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Most people who can't stand Fleck point to some superficial reason for why. Of course the real reason opposing fanbases don't like him is because he has Minnesota moving in the right direction.
 

RememberMurray said:
This sounds correct to me, especially the bolded part of your post. Michigan would (probably) have the final say.

I could imagine Michigan taking a lot of abuse from Minnesota fans if the Wolverines said, "Nope; we're not playing for The Jug this time. So there!"

It's a trophy that goes to the winner of the Minnesota-Michigan contest. Why bother to have a trophy if one team or the other can simply choose to hold on to the Jug, win or lose?
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Agree, and it would only add to the lore of the rivalry and spirit of the game. Would be sad to deprive fans of that with no discernible benefit of not doing it.
 

Gophers1992 said:
People hate him for 2 somewhat related reasons.

1. He is flamboyant. James Franklin gets a lot of similar misguided hate for this IMO.
2. He doesn't fit people's vision of an old time, masculine, tough guy stoic type of football coach. He is small, wears tight pants and flashy jewelry, and runs up and down the sidelines between quarters.

Both stupid, but I don't care if fans of other teams hate our coach. What does bother me is when our local media/fan base gets so caught up in these stupid things that they can't appreciate that we have the best head coach any of us have seen in our lifetimes.
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Fleck wears flashy jewelry?
 

fmlizard said:
Not really. The Gophers were further along and closer (9-0, top 5) in 2019. Serious football people thought they were being jobbed for being ranked lower than Bama.

I say this to remind folks that the Gophers being good is something almost all of us have seen before, recently, and it shouldn’t be surprising national media that Minnesota is balling out. They just all reset Minnesota to a historic spot every August and “surprise” when it happens again.
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I remember Ryan Leaf (see avatar) repeatedly talking about the Gophers both prior to....and post Penn State win. He was a RTBer before it was cool.
 

Schnauzer said:
The MSU beatdown in the 2:30 time slot registered with a lot of people that post on fan forums around the Big Ten.

Almost every Big Ten West (and a few East) boards have some sort of "Minnesota looks good" or "Fleck" thread and they are driving a lot of posts. Lots of opinions. The amount of attention within the conference directed at the Gophers skyrocketed during/after the MSU game.

In a nutshell, people were impressed by how thoroughly the Gophers were beating MSU, and commonly focused on the O line and what a good job Fleck has done building the team. There is a lot of conversation about "Are the Gophers that good or MSU that bad?" All in all, a fair amount of respect shown by the opposing fan bases.

The strongest themes involve Fleck. A very common viewpoint that he is an azzhole, jerk, etc. but apparently begrudgingly "can coach." It amazes me how thoroughly he drives negative reactions in opposing fans. They absolutely HATE him. I was thinking... other than a veiled shot at Frost "culture over talent", I can't think of many (any?) things he has said that would trigger other fan bases. He is usually very complimentary of Gopher opponents and their coaches. But, the hatred just flows and he really gets under people's skin! Almost every compliment directed at him was carefully balanced with some form of "don't get me wrong, he is still a jerk" comment.
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I think fleck is exactly what Minnesota needed, different culture and a whole different approach. Anyone who can’t see that is t looking at it objectively imho. He does make me laugh when he is on the fan with some of the one week championship seasons and the funny sayings he uses, but beyond all that he has gotten results. I think he is a little bit of a beavis with some of that u rah rah stuff but I’ll tip my cap for his accomplishments as a coach. I even cracked a smile when you guys played jump around last year after that ass whopping you gave the badgers. Let’s just have some fun with it.
 

noamfromm said:
I believe so. I've had other posters say no -- but I've never gotten evidence to that point. We've had the jug on the line in every meeting since -- I see no reason why this would be exceptional
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The B1G ruled on it in 2019– “no”
 

Live in the now said:
I think fleck is exactly what Minnesota needed, different culture and a whole different approach. Anyone who can’t see that is t looking at it objectively imho. He does make me laugh when he is on the fan with some of the one week championship seasons and the funny sayings he uses, but beyond all that he has gotten results. I think he is a little bit of a beavis with some of that u rah rah stuff but I’ll tip my cap for his accomplishments as a coach. I even cracked a smile when you guys played jump around last year after that ass whopping you gave the badgers. Let’s just have some fun with it.
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There are a ton of coaches that do the one game championship season thing in some form. Basically is just saying take one game at a time.
 

Word said:
There are a ton of coaches that do the one game championship season thing in some form. Basically is just saying take one game at a time.
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Agreed but I’ve never heard anyone phrase it like that. Whatever it is it’s working
 

highwayman said:
The B1G ruled on it in 2019– “no”
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Again people have told me such things but where is this ruling? Additionally there's been no example of a title game that had a trophy on the line between the two teams.
 

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