The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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FROM OUR READERS be said that all we had to do was defeat Ohio and this would not all sound like sour grapes. There would be justice! But alas, it all still leaves a pretty bitter taste in my mouth! Sadly, I can't quit watching, rooting for my university and hoping for a different result! Is it now 364 days? Ouch! Sometimes, it is just tough to be a Wolverine! Hanover, N.H. Tom Bacon Tom. You wonder how it applies to col- lege football, especially upon seeing Tres- sel lauded. But that's why winning in that series — which Brady Hoke intends to do more often than no — is especially sweet. for every team that ever follows you. You just won the national champi- onship." That was Lloyd Carr to his football team just after the Rose Bowl, Jan. 1, 1998. When will the next head football coach at the University of Michigan be able to say that to his team? It has been nearly 15 years. Too long. Brady Hoke has stated on numer- Dear The Wolverine: "You have left a wonderful legacy SHOOT FOR THE TOP ous occasions that the Big Ten cham- pionship is his goal, the way he will judge success. That is how he recruits. Though laudable, that is not the ul- timate prize, and it has not been for some time. This is not your father's Big Ten, nor that of Bo Schembechler. Even in the SEC, undoubtedly They say virtue is its own reward, loyalty is just not as important. That is the new reality. Though most likely driven by the almighty dollar, look at the Big Ten's own recent expansion, which is ap- parently not over. The future may involve paying players, or players going directly from high school to professional football (perhaps Michi- gan will even become independent). I'm not suggesting here that Michi- gan sell out, forgetting about aca- demics (see the SEC), or go criminal (see the SEC and Ohio State). Just the opposite. I believe Michigan is virtually unique in college football in that it is a world-class public institution aca- demically, that also happens to have the best football program and tradi- tion on the planet. Michigan, because of its history, tradition and mystique, may be singularly placed to accom- plish what I am presenting: main- taining the highest academic stand- ing and integrity, while reaching the very pinnacle in college football, the national championship. It can be done. Michigan has done Howard, they came from Ohio, which Hoke has hit incredibly hard in recruit- ing, along with some of the states that produced the others you mentioned. Michigan is building, with 19 wins over two transitional seasons. And as for players like Woodson and Focus does not appear to be the issue. processing the suffering that comes after another loss to the Buckeyes, I am trying to look for good things about the game in Columbus. Search- ing for that shining ray of hope is easy: you, the Michigan defense, played a tremendous game! Your performance was not perfectly ex- ecuted, but the results of your heroic efforts were truly remarkable. It was mind-bogglingly ironic that U-M DEFENSE STOOD TALL Dear The Wolverine: Like all Wolverine football fanatics now the best football conference in the country, the goal is to win the national championship. Michigan should not strive to be champions of the Midwest (or even the "West"). Michigan is national, international. What do these great Michigan play- ers (Tom Harmon, Desmond How- ard, Charles Woodson, Tom Brady, Chad Henne, Dennard Robinson) all have in common? None of them are from Michigan. And the list is long. Conferences it before. I suspect this is Brady Hoke's ultimate goal anyway, but as part of the process, we should proclaim as much. Recruits want to know. This is what they will gravitate to. We are not setting ourselves up for failure, but for success. Michigan has been, and should be, about win- ning national championships. It is our burden. It is our blessing. It is our destiny. Not because it is easy, but because it is hard. This is Michigan, for God's sake. John N. Trobaugh, M.D. Naples, Fla. have become a means to an end. This seems especially true with the chang- ing landscape of college football. Who can predict what is to come, but for good or bad, things appear to be headed to four or five super conferences, with a playoff system, and little NCAA control. Conference that it can be done. He was there, right in the middle of the celebration, when Carr said those words. He also knows Carr said this as well: "Once, I was part of a national championship team. That really changes the way you look at things. Once you do it, there's nothing else, there's no goal out there that compares to that one. That's what I'm thinking about: How can we do this?" Hoke knows all of that. He also knows Dr. T., nobody knows better than Hoke former OSU star linebacker Chris Spielman was doing the color com- mentary for the ABC telecast. Two years ago he called you out, referring to you as "Mike Martin and a bunch of nice little subs at Indiana." You made him face up to eating his words as his beloved Buckeyes could not cross your goal line after halftime, even though they had virtually the entire second half to do it. Your tena- cious resolve and endurance were amazing! As I listened to the Michigan foot- ball radio postgame locker room in- terviews, I was even more proud of you because of your team-unity-first attitude. Even though it was pain- fully obvious that you had played well in the second half, and that the Wolverine offense had not, Jordan Kovacs refused to acknowledge that fact and asserted that all who had suited up in the Maize & Blue had come up short. The hearts of all Wolverine football Michigan never gets to the national championship without winning the Big Ten first. Recruits know Michigan strives to win every game. They know about the national championship in '97, and the intention of winning another. fans rejoice for you, William Camp- bell, Kenny Demens, J.T. Floyd, Craig Roh and all you seniors who played through the discouraging years of the RichRod era and, with blood, sweat and tears, built a foundation of hope that next season will be bet- ter and a Big Ten championship more likely. You have earned our gratitude. Lou Hoekstra Kalamazoo, Mich. They gave Michigan every chance to win, Lou. That's about all you can ask. ❑ DECEMBER 2012 THE WOLVERINE 5