Carr keeps to his high horse road

FootballIf you’re Lloyd Carr, campaigning for your team is beneath you. Apparently, though, nonstop whining is a virtue.

For two straight weeks, Carr hasn’t passed up a microphone, a camera, or a reporter without making sure everyone knows how sorry they should feel for the Wolverines.

Carr continued his boo-hooing in a news conference yesterday:

Carr said [the BCS selecting Florida] was one of the most disappointing moments in his 27 years with the Wolverines.

“Sometimes, in athletics, you get a bad bounce, and things don’t go your way,” Carr said. “And we have to move on from this.”

Oh, for the love of… Just sheesh. “Sometimes things don’t go your way”?!?

Lloyd: The reason you’re not in the BCS title game isn’t because the “BCS failed.” It’s because you lost to OSU.

You failed to secure your spot. It was right there in front of you, for the taking, and you missed it. Every single star aligned for you to win that game; from three turnovers, to having the officials in your hip pocket, even to the team-rallying tragedy of Bo’s passing. You failed.

Does anyone else realize how elitist this whining sounds to the players, coaches, and fans of over 100 other football teams who didn’t have the opportunities that Michigan did this season? You not only think you’re better than them, but you think that you’re so special that you demand a second chance, no matter how unfair it is to anyone else?

I’ve said it before: Carr & co. better hope they destroy USC. Anything less will validate the BCS selections.

If I were a UM fan, I’d be nervous. All of this talk is pretty disrespectful to USC. Don’t think for a minute Pete Carroll isn’t making his players watch Carr, his team, and everyone else in Wolverine nation as they complain that UM deserved better than USC, and that they deserved more than the Rose…

Comments

  1. Dude is an ass. I think he was betting the hedges that voters would revolt against Florida because:
    1. Michigan lost by 3
    2. Bo sentiments
    3. Urban Meyers team looked horrible and he’s worse than Carr when it comes to whining.

    But now, way afte the fact just makes him look old yeller….

  2. TexasBuckeye says

    I don’t hear ‘whining’ from these interviews. To me, Carr’s simply stating an opinion- his. Yeah maybe he was robbed but that’s the system we have. There needs to be a playoff! Start w/ the top eight teams- first game on campus, next in a bowl and final in a bowl. The only problem is – how to pick the top eight. With a poll???- still a problem. Then nos 9- 11 will be accused of….. ‘whining’.

    Those left out are always accused. While those let in are accused of campaigining- which might be accrurate. But that’s the system we have.

    Go Bucks and lets hope for a playoff soon!

  3. USC by 10.

  4. It is amazing how perspective can alter your perception.

    I don’t take Carr’s comments as “whining” at all. Maybe if you took off your “I hate Michigan with the passion of a thousand suns” glasses, you would too.

    Question #1: How is stating “sometimes things don’t go your way” an elitist statement ?

    Question #2: How is expressing that you are disappointed by not getting “selected” by a bunch of voters in anyway disrespectful to USC ?

  5. Hi Andy –

    Thanks for stopping by.

    I suppose I feel that his “bad bounce, things not going our way” comment is elitist because things did go his way; he had an 11-1 season, is playing in the Rose, will probably finish as the #2 team this year (and be #1 next year until he loses).

    After all those successes, to say that this is the most disappointed he’s been in 27 years of coaching seems pretty “elitist.” Lots of division I-A coaches have been coaching longer than he, and without the treasure chest he sits on up there in Ann Arbor, and would kill for the chances and opportunities he had.

    Right on down to the OSU game – as I wrote, he was given opportunities that all coaches dream about… the game was practically handed to him, and he didn’t win. You can almost hear them saying, “I can’t believe, after the season he’s had, after the talent he’s got playing for him, after having the title game placed into his hands and dropping it, and still managing to get to a major BCS game, he’s the most disappointed he’s ever been as a professional coach.”

    So I feel that most coaches would see his lobbying for sympathy to be fairly elitist. He gets things they only dream about, then complains about them.

    As for your second question, just switch the roles, and maybe you’ll understand what I mean. Let’s say USC was shut out of the BCS title game to Florida, and had to play UM in the Rose. And all you hear Pete Carroll talk about is how disappointed he is the system failed, the players complaining that they deserver better than the Rose, better than UM.

    It would be tantamount to saying “we don’t deserve to play UM, they’re beneath us; we should be playing OSU.” Don’t you think that the UM players would use that as motivation to get fired up for the game?

  6. Fair enough.

    I appreciate your perspective. I never considered his comments as a statement summarizing the entire Michigan football season. I took them as a statement regarding his disappointment about being passed by Florida in the eyes of the voters.

    Carr’s comments are not a “lobby for sympathy”. He was asked a question during a press conference and answered it. Do you think a man that did not lobby for selection into the game would turn around lobby for sympathy after the fact?

    I think you are letting your bias influence your thinking too much. You are hoping to create bulletin board material that just isn’t there. In 2003, Pete Carroll did talk about how the system let them down. USC dealt with similar disappointment in not getting a shot a the Sugar Bowl. I doubt the Trojans are disrespected by Carr’s disappointment.

  7. I really think you’re making a mountain out of a molehill here. It’s your right to dislike Michigan and Carr, but I think Andy has it covered pretty well. Carroll in 2003 said similar things. Carr was asked a question and answered it, seems like you’re just projecting something that isn’t there.

Leave a Reply to AndyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: