01 June 2011

You Raise Me Up: Looking Back On A Legend



A Tribute To Rich Rodriguez 


The Invincibility, The Magic Around the Michigan Program As It Relates To the Michigan State Spartans Is Dead
Hail?  Check.
Victor?  Check.
Valiant?  Check. Conquering Hero? Check.

Worst hire in Division 1-A history?  Check.

Former University of Michigan Head football coach, Rich Rodriguez, represents so many different things to so many different people.  To a West Virginia fan he is a winner turned traitor.  To a Michigan fan he is a terrible mistake.  To Pat White and Steve Slaton he is a genius.   To Tate Forcier he is a tease.  To Denard "Shoelace" Robinson he is a baby maker.  To his own defense he is a child.

So what exactly does Coach Rod represent to me?  I'll tell you what.  Hes a valiant victor.  Hes  my conquering hero.  He serves as an inspiration to me and anybody else who's been burdened with a few less brain cells than the kid next to him. He is a provider...of entertainment and endless trips to the end zone for just about every player lucky enough to stand opposite his defense.  All joking aside (truthfully this is not a joke), I want to take this moment right now and thank Dick for all he's done.  Thank you Dick...you will be missed.

It seems like only yesterday that Michigan was pounding little brother into submission year in and year out.  Legit verified ass whippings on the reg. In my 6 year college career at Michigan State we did not beat them once. Then along comes Coach.  Granted, I no longer call East Lansing my home but I'll forever call the Spartans my team and no one man did more for my team than Rich Rodriguez.  Like a thief in the night he took the reigns and started losing at break neck speed.  Michigan's losses started piling up like they have never piled up before...and to make my long point a little shorter, the end result of his first year was a 3-9 record, which kick started what would become the worst 3 year stretch in Michigan Football history.

Rich is the king of getting ESPN to give a kid a Heisman trophy after week 4.  Only to find out that they were really only pasting the cream puffs he would schedule every year non-conference.  See Tate and Denard.  Rich is also famous for his title as king of the post game pout, as evidence reveals in the 3 or 4 times he busted out into tears because his feelings got hurt.  I mean a grown, head football coaching man cried at press conferences.  A lot.  To top all this off, shortly after he knew he was getting canned he famously stood in front of his players, their families, and UM faithful alike and figured that all he had to do to win his job back was play a Groban track, start the sniffles, and shed a tear or two.  That must not have gone as he planned because instead of getting the job he got humiliated.  Whatever you want to call it...the facts remain, that was some of the most embarrassing and most bizzare behavior NCAA college football has ever seen.  Dick is like a train wreck and a treat all mixed into one.  He may disappoint his team and his fans, but this guy never disappointed me.  What an absolute joy it is just to know that hes a real person.   The only thing that could make this better would be Ohio State giving him the head coaching job due to his above average skill set in a.) breaking NCAA rules and b.) destroying dreams in Ann Arbor.

You know what else is kind of funny?  So now they hire Brady Hoke or as I like to call him "PLAN C".  Somehow this mid-major "Michigan Man" is only 47-50 playing against second rate squads and I can't help but feel eerily similair to the same way I felt at the start of the Rodriguez regime.  Not like it matters and not like I really care anyways.  As long as Michigan continues to lose...I continue to win, because if theres anything I like more than a Spartan W it's a Wolverine L.

Michigan Career Highlights Include:

0 - Wins against MSU
0 - Wins against OSU
Worst 3 stretch season Michigan has ever seen
A 52-14 loss to Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl when his job was publicly on the line
Cries at football banquet