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Respect is a weird thing. You can get it but not earn it. You can earn it but not get it. You can completely not understand what exactly it is yet give it and receive it. Also, it means something different to everyone and anyone.
The most dangerous foe is the one that has earned respect but acts as though he he has none of it.
Which brings us to Michigan State and their football team.
Look, I’ll be the first to say I was dead wrong about the Spartans this past weekend. They’d sort of been the guy in dodge ball who sits in the corner and lets everyone else eliminate themselves while cackling gleefully at their good fortune up to this past Saturday.
One could argue that simply winning based on the self-masochism of Rutgers and Michigan, MSU shouldn’t be given the credit for winning, rather than not losing; the Spartans were like the guy at the bar who sort of just hangs around so long that eventually, of the girls still around at closing time, one finds him cute enough for the night.
The other look at it seems more salient: MSU just knows how to win, and the Spartans have a mystique about them that doesn’t necessarily lead teams to make mistakes because they’re overwhelmed, but leads them to over-think everything they do, because every game against a team like MSU is a chance to make your season.
This is a very unpopular opinion, but sometimes winning becomes part of your identity. It’s damn hard to get there, to the place where other teams not in that spot — not accustomed to being the big dog — tinkle down their leg against you (when performing normally easy actions such as punting the ball with 10 seconds left in regulation, up by two) just because they’re subjected to some sort of mythical sports voodoo that follows your team wherever it goes.
Still, it seems as though that is the case, because, to be honest, winning against someone that knows how to win is a mental screwball. You understand what you’re up against and how much it means, and you over-think everything you do, even the obvious things like understanding what down it is (Rutgers) or catching a punt (Michigan).
The Spartans this week were ranked all over the spectrum of the top 10, seventh by the AP, fourth by the coaches, and 10th by the CBS Sports poll. In the CBS poll’s defense, it had Baylor ranked number one, so you can just assume the body of voters is a daycare somewhere in Texas.
You can bang on the way it’s done … like they’re only winning fights because the other guy misses, punches a brick wall, and breaks his hand in the middle of the fight.
It’s disingenuous, though.
This isn’t the MSU team we’re used to. The defense is good, but you can score on it. The Spartans were woefully bad at times when Michigan’s Jake Rudock fluttered long passes that should have been picked off. They were no better in being confused by Purdue’s most usually flaccid offense.
We knew going in that this would be a more balanced MSU team than we’ve thought of. While the offense has been good the last few years, the defense has been the spine of the big wins. That narrative started to change last year with the emergence of Connor Cook … who has lost only ONE Big Ten football game as a starter.
How far it goes remains to be seen. Michigan was the better football team for 60 minutes on Saturday, but still lost. To be frank, that’s how it is sometimes. Suppose North Texas or Illinois (sorry to both) were on the other side of that punt. Would Michigan punter Blake O’Neill have felt the same type of pressure to simply catch the ball and kick it anywhere to end the game?
I say no, because when you start getting to your goal, you begin to feel the weight of the travel.
Michigan State has entered into rarefied air: when teams are playing you, they’re wondering when the other shoe will drop… because it always does. They’re in that stratosphere where the aura of winning gets packed in the bus on road trips the same way as pads, iPods, and whatever else the young folks use this day to entertain themselves.
Soon, the Spartans will play Ohio State, another team that simply understands how to win, and that winning is the only demon to slay.
Something will have to give at that point.
At this point, though, it’s time to give the Spartans the respect they deserve. They don’t always look the part you expect them to, but they understand how to get it done when it has to happen.
Sometimes you’re lucky. Sometimes you’re good. Sometimes you’re both, and it hangs over who you play against. Sometimes, you’re Michigan State.
