This past year has been quite a ride for sports fans from the Great LakesState – and not in a good way. The emotional roller coaster of the last ten months appears to have given way to the worst sports season the state has ever seen, especially for University of Michigan fans. The year seemed promising, which only made each ensuing disaster more painful. Never before has there been so much disappointment, heartbreak, and failed expectations in this short of a time span. But the worst part of it is that Michigan’s sports woes may have only just begun.
It’s certainly worth noting that from the late eighties and well through the turn of the century, the state of Michigan experienced a “Golden Age” for its professional and collegiate sports teams. The list of accomplishments is certainly impressive: three NBA Championships, four Stanley Cups, the Barry Sanders era, and for UM, four national titles in three major sports. To sum it up, it’s probably safe to say that most undergrads have never seen a year when there wasn’t something for UM fans to be excited about in the world of sports.
Fast forward to the year 2010: The storied Michigan football program has just completed the second year of what might be one of the most epic collapses in the history of college sports. The hockey team is barely above .500, and nowhere close to the top of the standings in the CCHA. The basketball team, which many hoped would redeem UM’s football disaster like it did last year, will now have to struggle to make the NIT. Meanwhile, the Pistons have fallen to the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Lions are as bad as they’ve ever been over the past decade, and after losing their closing pitcher and iconic leadoff hitter, the Tigers look slated to begin a brand new era of failure. Even the Red Wings, who have made the post-season eighteen years in a row, are currently dancing in and out of playoff position.
The agony isn’t because of the failure itself, but the excruciatingly painful way in which the Michigan sports debacle played out. Apart from the UM football tragedy of 2008, it really began last spring, shortly after the basketball team’s surprising NCAA tournament run. The Michigan hockey team entered the post-season as the number one seed, and Red Berenson looked slated to win his third national title. But then, in the Frozen Four, the Wolverines lost to Notre Dame in overtime, ending an otherwise spectacular season. That’s when the snowball began rolling downhill. In early June, the Red Wings, seemingly on the way to their fifth Stanley Cup in 13 years, blew a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Finals and lost to Pittsburgh in seven games. In October, the Tigers completed one of the most monumental single season collapses in MLB history. After leading the Central Division since May, Detroit found themselves in a one-game playoff with Minnesota for the division title, and ended up losing that game in dramatic, 10th inning-lead-blowing fashion. The UM Football team looked promising, after a 4-0 start, but after losing seven times over the next eight games, the Maize and Blue missed out on a bowl for the second year in a row. Just recently, the Michigan basketball team… Well, you get the point.
So what about the future? All four professional sports teams appear to be entering rebuilding phases (granted, the Lions seem to be perpetually rebuilding), which basically means they won’t be getting any better for at least another five years. If Rich Rodriguez doesn’t turn the UM football program around next year, he’ll be gone, and the team will be forced to make another difficult coaching transition. After the basketball season, Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims will be heading for the NBA draft, and suddenly John Beilein is in the hot-seat. Perhaps the hockey team can pick up the slack.
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