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December 5, 2010 It is tearing apart Ann Arbor. It’s literally straining friendships, instigating shouting matches, and rubbing emotions raw. Almost any small gathering of students that leads to raised voices on campus can be blamed on it. I’m talking about the Great Debate: whether or not Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon should fire football coach Rich Rodriguez. I remember the snowy December 2007 morning when Rich Rodriguez was announced as Lloyd Carr’s replacement. After flirtations with Les Miles, which were ultimately submarined by ESPN commentator and former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, Michigan controversially decided to go outside of the Michigan family, and hire offensive genius Rich Rodriguez. Immediately, the battle lines were drawn. Many alum were upset that a real “Michigan Man” was not hired, lamenting aloud that if Bo Schembechler were still alive, Rodriguez never would have been hired. The division only grew wider as star QB Ryan Mallett transferred and current NFL WRs Adrian Arrington and Mario Manningham decided to leave Ann Arbor early. Certainly, Rodriguez’s 3-9 inaugural 2008 season did not help matters. The Free Press investigation, released just days before Michigan’s first game against Western Michigan in August of 2009 guaranteed the season would start off on the wrong foot off the field. On it, Rodriguez got off to a quick 4-0 start, only to see his team crumble in the last eight games of the season, posting a horrid 1-7 mark. Though it later became clear that the Freep’s allegations were completely off the mark, “major” NCAA violations were discovered: the team had practiced a total of 2 ˝ hours too much in 2008. Regardless of its triviality, Rodriguez’s stock plummeted further, and this year’s 7-5 mark has left many Michigan fans even more upset and enraged. So here we stand, with the Michigan family embroiled in a civil war at its apex. While it is certainly not his fault, Rodriguez has managed to create a scenario rarely seen in sports. Instead of Michigan fans uniting behind their team, they are now divided behind it. Rivalries are supposed to exist between schools, but in Ann Arbor, the greatest rivalry is now between those that want Rodriguez to coach at least one more year for the maize and blue, and those that want him gone, yesterday. I feel completely confident in saying that the greatest rival to any Michigan fan currently is not Ohio State; it’s those wolverines on the opposite side of the Rich Rod debate. As a friend of mine pointed out, the Great Debate has turned into the abortion issue of sports: both sides emphatically believe the other side is wrong, and leaves no room to compromise. As a “one more year” Rodriguez supporter, I refuse to talk about the coaching situation to those that want Rodriguez gone. And they don’t want to talk to me about it either! I’ve seen many strange things in my four years in Ann Arbor, but this is definitely the strangest: a campus divided, a team floundering and a coach under fire. They say time heals all wounds, but short of Bo rising from the grave to talk some sense into us, I believe it’s going to take a whole lot of time to close this divide. (c) 2010 Novi
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Alex Prasad is a life-long Michigan resident, a student at the University of Michigan and a 2007 graduate of Novi High School. He was the Novi.org school and sports reporter while he was at NHS. Alex was also a captain of the NHS Cross Country Team and Track Team under legendary coach Bob Smith. His passion for running continues to this day, as he trains for a marathon. Alex is currently General Manager of WOLV-TV, the student run television station at UM, and produces shows on both the Michigan Football and Michigan Hockey teams. You can also see his work on Big Ten Network coverage of Michigan baseball and softball this spring. This column is shared by Alex Prasad, Lance J. Lilla and Bernie Fratto on alternating weeks.
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