I'm a Fan of Michigan Football, Not a Fan of Dave Portnoy

College football hit us all with a bang this past weekend. I know that there is a "week 0", but that is like the calm before the storm. Week one is when all the action really starts to pop off. Let’s discuss.

Week one is also when the pregame shows really give it their all. I have pretty much stopped watching any pregame stuff. I find it to be long, boring and pointless. It features former players or guys who never played but think they know the game popping off at the mouth and making picks that mean nothing to the actual game. It has gotten so bad that broadcasters are starting to openly pick who wins based on friendship. Go look at some highlights from the TCU-UNC game last night on the ESPN pregame show if you don't believe me. One such station that likes to boast about their pregame show is Fox. Again, I don't watch, but it seems like lots of people do. The only time I see even a minute of this show is during the university of Ohio State-Michigan game. And that's usually the tail end of the show.

This year Fox made some news when they hired Dave Portnoy to be part of the pregame team. This caused a whole stir because Portnoy is a big time Michigan fan and the first game that Fox was going to do a pregame show this season was in Columbus. It got so heated that rumors were flying around on the internet that Portnoy was being banned from the stadium due to his allegiance to Michigan. I always thought this was overblown, and sure enough he was there this past Saturday.

Try as I might, I did see a very little bit of his performance and it kind of drove me nuts. Look, you all know my love for Michigan and Wolverines football. They have been my true love in the sports world for a very long time now, as long as I can remember watching football games in fact. So, for Dave Portnoy now to be considered the ultimate Michigan fan, that makes me sick to my stomach. Sure, Portnoy does seem to be a genuine fan and he does seem to love this football team. But, he is a blowhard and a douchebag. Barstool Sports is the broiest and doucheiest sports website on the internet. It is just The Chive for sports. I despise Barstool, all of its offshoots and its most loyal fans. It is a site that can be as toxic as any on the internet and everyone is as mean as they can be because they can hide behind a screen name. Portnoy himself is an idiot and a loudmouth. His pizza reviews are dumb as hell. I hate how he acts like he is an actual part of the Michigan football program. He is probably a donor, but he is a low level donor at best. He did nothing to secure Bryce Underwood's commitment or had a single thing to do with the 2023 national champion team. He has been on the internet trashing "Sinners" lately. How devoid of taste and knowledge does he have to be to think "Sinners" is not a masterpiece.

What makes me angriest is he is now the face of Michigan fandom. People who don't know the sport all that well, or even really seem to care, when they see Dave Portnoy now they are going to think that is how all Michigan fans behave. We don't. I'm not on the internet every minute of everyday saying some wild stuff about other teams or other players. I'm not making internet videos that make me out to be a martyr because I may or may not have been banned from a stadium. I don't go online and actively troll fans of other teams. I like to sit down with my dad, who is a lifelong Michigan fan, and simply watch the game and commiserate with him. When we do go to a game in person, we do meet a few Dave Portnoy types, but we tend to meet more people like us that just simply love this team and don't feel the need to constantly talk about it on the internet. Portnoy is giving Michigan fans and Michigan fandom a bad name and I do not like it. It bums me out that, simply because he has money, Portnoy has become what others think all us Michigan fans act like on a regular basis. I'm here to say that we don't. Portnoy is a small, loudmouth idiot that thinks he knows everything. He does not and I despise him and his "enterprise".

I just needed to say this after seeing his performance this past weekend. I do not stand with Portnoy. And Go Blue forever. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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