Ding. Ding.

Sports fans on the internet like to throw around the term “unacceptable” regarding performances. Some will howl that a loss by Michigan to Toledo, or any other upset, is simply “unacceptable” and they are “officially concerned” about the future of their team.

Newspaper writers and bloggers of all profiles report on the most minute details to feed the ravenous fans. We know more about HS Juniors that could potentially someday maybe play at our favorite school than ever before. Insiders, legitimate and pseudo, litter the e-webs with tidbits that used to stay in the locker rooms and between teams.

NCAA Football is a gazillion dollar industry that provides hundreds of programming hours to cable giants and talk radio. Equipment manufacturers aggressively peddle merchandise branded with team logos at every opportunity. Advertisers pay to name instant replays, bowl games, and stadiums.

Of course, you aren’t in a coma and we aren’t Idiocracy just yet, so you’ve probably already noticed this.

I’m not a huge fan of this information overload. A game turns into a business rather quickly, and then some of the fun is lost forever. Maybe I’m drifting into Rick Reilly territory here (and if I go any further down that road please take me out back and bludgeon me to death with a brick) but I like it better when I know very little about incoming recruits until they actually hit the field. That’s why the WLA doesn’t strive to be a blog that provides information.

I’m sure if you’ve ever read this site you’ve noticed we seem to be particularly critical of certain “information” providers. Maybe you’ve seen entries from myself that claim the WLA is on a mission from God to open your eyes. We have a goal – to bring an alternative sports fan community to life that doesn’t endlessly jock sniff 17 year olds and allows them to (WILD IDEA ALERT) live their lives at our favorite school without fear of death threats and e-coaching. We recognize that the pitfalls and challenges of running a major college football program are numerous and that we could never hope to do as well as Greg Robinson did at Syracuse on our best day.

We recognize this because we are honest, and in the e-parlance of our e-teams, we are MEN who stand by our opinions. We are e-man enough to edmit that we don’t know near enough about the intricacies of running a Division 1 football team to have many meaningful insights into how it should be done.

Now, I understand that since these athletes are receiving an (in theory) free education while their school rakes in millions and that the coaches receive plenty of compensation for their time that they are open to a certain criticism. Yes, as Spiderman taught us in second grade, with great power comes great responsibility.

What I refuse to abide is blatant hypocrisy. Bricklayers and janitors write manifestos that craft a rationalization of why it’s ok for 40 year olds to (anonymously, despite their protests to the contrary) write e-blogs about certain players lack of character or innuendo about intra-department politics. They call it criticism – I call it pandering to the lowest common denominator fan in order to rule their little insider kingdom – and say that if you decide to play for Michigan you should be prepared to take it.

I’ll ignore the obvious creepiness of a middle aged man that spends more time gleaning information on practices from the State Street bridge and sidling up next to coaches in Schembechler Hall urinals than they do with their own families and focus on the bigger point. If you claim yourself a Very Important provider of Information on the Very Important Michigan Football Team and then publicly post this information, and expect people to read it reverently and take it seriously, are you not open to criticism?

No – because according to GBMW and countless messsage board posters, we should not criticize fellow Michigan fans. We all cheer for the same team!

But wait – here’s the hypocrisy boat full of crates of delicious hypocrisy coming into Fucktard Harbor – don’t Michigan football players play for Michigan? Shouldn’t we treat them with even MORE reverence than we do fellow fans? Don’t the players actually play the football game that football fans watch? Why do people get violently angry with the WLA when we say to keep the criticism of the players to a minimum, but then get violently angry when we call out a Michigan fan/e-blog that is performing very badly? Why can you boo 20 year olds at a football game but I can’t tell a 40 year old man that maybe he doesn’t need to spread rumors that a certain football player has an attitude problem?

Ah, and now we come to the delicious center of this mess. It’s not about Michigan, or Michigan fans, it’s about power. I’m not telling you construction working insiders aren’t fans – I’m sure they BLEED maize and blue – I’m telling you they care more about people perceiving them to be experts than they do about being right, being fair, or being honest.

Without critcism and dissenting opinions, life is pretty bland and stagnant. I understand the desire for insider!! information exists, that people will always second guess coaches and players, and that people will always generally be dumb. Just remember that if you want to criticize players who can’t handle criticism, you might want to consider learning how to handle criticism yourself.