Goldy is feeling good about Wisconsin's early woes.
Minnesota beat writer Amelia Rayno tries to make Gophers fans feel better about the 0-4 Big Ten start by pointing out that things aren’t that much better in Wisconsin.
She rightly points to high expectations in Madison and the lousy shooting to open conference play, before concluding:
Nonetheless, at this juncture of the Gophers season, a little Schadenfreude never hurts.
She brings up an interesting element of fandom and one that is highly prevalent among Big Ten fan bases.
For the non-German speakers, Schadenfreude is the enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others. It’s present in nearly every walk of life – politics, business, neighborhoods, whatever. But it is perhaps most pronounced in sports.
Elements of some fan bases almost seem to take as much delight in their opponents’ failures as their teams’ successes. This is usually more true among secondary teams in a market or league (think pre-World Series Red Sox or Purdue basketball).
But does Wisconsin’s 1-3 start really make Minnesota’s 0-4 start any more palatable? The Gophers are still in last place and arguably are in a worse position to climb out of that hole. Plus, the Badgers are still on Minnesota’s schedule, so Minnesota boosters should be careful of any overt taunting. (One other thing, ESPN included Wisconsin’s “misaligned timepieces” on its new Bottom 10 feature today.)
Geography, of course, makes the feeling more intense (just see the Northwestern-Illinois squabbles here this week).
Personally, I had a much deeper dislike for Purdue when I lived in Indiana, as the Boilermaker fan celebrations of then-rare Hoosier losses felt galling and obnoxious. Now, I rather like Matt Painter and his teams.
A friend of mine who has long since moved from Indiana, however, doesn’t care if the Hoosiers win any games other than Purdue and Kentucky. They could go 3-30 and he’d be happy if the three came against the Boilermakers and Wildcats.
I’d prefer 30-3, with losses to Kentucky and Purdue (as long as they don’t subsequently meet in the tournament).
I feel no real enmity for any Big Ten team at this point. I have found that I want Big Ten teams to win every nonconference game they play (rising tides and whatnot).
But I do root against them for competitive reasons to benefit the Hoosiers. So, for the record, I will be quietly rooting against these teams for the foreseeable future:
- Michigan State
- Ohio State
- Purdue
- Illinois
- Michigan
This list is subject to change.
January 11, 2012 at 5:11 pm
Rayno is just looking to endear herself with those that can’t stand the likes of the Gopher-hating columnists at the Strib (‘Fat Pat’ Reusse and ‘Dim Jim’ Souhan). It’s not working. Frankly, I’ve not been impressed with Ms. Rayno’s work (and yes, I know she followes tDBT on Twitter). It’s rather blah, and her blog is completely lacking any real analysis at all.
As much as I hate Wisconsin (and oh man, do I hate them and Iowa), I don’t take a whole lot of pleasure in them sucking when my own team is worse or only marginally better. I also have many friends who pull for or went to Wisconsin, and I’m not one to throw losses in their face (although I sometimes don’t get the same respect back from some). Mostly I like to point out to them what a spoiled fan base they have become as a whole.
All that said, I don’t and won’t actively pull for Wisconsin or Iowa in Bowl games or the NCAA Tourney. Their success in these areas may indirectly hurt my team, so why would I?
The Gopher/Badger hockey rivalry is far more enjoyable this season for me, since Wisconsin absolutely blows this year.
January 11, 2012 at 7:20 pm
I like her, though I’m not a Minnesota fan. She does a decent job with Twitter and whatnot.
January 11, 2012 at 5:12 pm
I feel the same way about wanting B1G teams to win non conference games for any sport. It makes the conference as a whole look better, especially in stuff like the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. If every team in the B1G had an undefeated non-conf schedule I’d have no problem with that. I also feel the same way you do about consistently rooting for teams to lose that are ahead of teams I like (so OSU losing last night was good; now I want someone to beat Illinois. I don’t care who does it). But, why are you rooting for teams to lose that are behind IU? I couldn’t care less if Northwestern beats Penn State. The only team you should care about losing right now is MSU, and hope IU takes care of its own business.
Where we differ: I want IU to finish last in the conference every single season in every single sport.
January 11, 2012 at 5:14 pm
I should also add that I would probably be happier if the B1G went 11-1 in the ACC/B1G challenge and the only team that got beat was IU than if the conference went 12-0. Same way if IU makes a bowl game in football in my lifetime.
January 11, 2012 at 5:15 pm
But if Purdue and IU are both crappy in the same year, it doesn’t make me feel any better about Purdue being crappy.
January 11, 2012 at 5:18 pm
One gripe on this post Tony, I’m not certain your pic of Goldy you pulled is even an official Goldy Gopher. Looks a little rough, although he does appear to be standing on the top steps of Northrup Auditorium on Campus.
I believe that’s the header photo from the quirky Gopher blog “Down with Goldy”, the title of which has never made any sense to me.
January 11, 2012 at 5:54 pm
See? Indiana drives Purdue fans batty. Many are defined by the sum of their grievances.
As for why I am rooting against those 5, they are the ones competitive for a top 2-3 finish. I’m not under any illusion that Indiana is winning a huge chunk of the remaining games.
Not sure that is all that unreasonable.
January 11, 2012 at 6:23 pm
It’s a two way street though – I have a lot of friends that went to IU that hate to see Purdue have success as well. Which is probably part of the reason why they’ve all been beyond ecstatic this season.
January 11, 2012 at 6:53 pm
Oh, I only speak for myself. I shared about my friend. He’s a mess.
January 11, 2012 at 5:58 pm
It’s a giant gopher with a Minnesota shirt on. Don’t quibble.
January 11, 2012 at 9:31 pm
After further review, yeah, that looks ugly enough to be Goldy. . .
January 11, 2012 at 9:57 pm
Yeah, what the F happened to Badger hockey?! Crap. I always said Eaves was a crappy coach but could get some players due to his role with USA hockey…but now it seems he can’t even get the players.
Bucky’s real head coach is fricking coaching the women’s team. Get Mark over to the men’s side where he belongs and let the next generation Johnson lead us back to the top!
We need some hockey on this site Tony! When does the Big Ten Hockey Conference start, next year?
January 11, 2012 at 9:59 pm
I would welcome hockey. I think only a handful of schools care – and we lack writers for some of them.
GBG is your guy for Minnesota hockey.
January 11, 2012 at 10:23 pm
Wisconsin was gunning for title # 7 (vs, ahem, the U’s 3 despite all built in advantages for them with the Final 5 and usually a Regional in Mpls/St Paul every year) just a couple of seasons ago. They’re just having an off year…
Big Ten hockey starts in 2013.
January 11, 2012 at 11:09 pm
Right Rowdie, all the built in advantages like having 4 other D-I schools in your backyard (UMD, St. Cloud State, Bemidji State, and Minnesota State). If you are a high school hockey player from MN and want to stay in your home state, you have choices galore. Wisconsin, not so much. And wasn’t that last National title the Badgers won in the ridicuously friendly confines of the Bradley Center? That’s like having Duke in a title game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. People in glass houses…
And it’s 5 National Titles, not 3.
Minnesota’s all-time record vs. Badgers?
A dominating 153–86–20. Not even close. It would take 16+ years of regular season 4-0 sweeps for Wisconsin just to break even with us. That’s long-term domination any way you shake it.
But who’s counting. Oh yeah, you were.
January 11, 2012 at 11:23 pm
You’re right it’s 5. Had 3 stuck in my head for so long because it was laughingly low for the school with all the built in home cooking needed to make the Frozen Four every year. That was my point. No one in WI really gives a shit about hockey the way they do in MN, so for the Badgers to have more championships is a hoot!
January 12, 2012 at 8:13 am
Ahhh, hockey talk. Need more of it.