Indiana Football Potluck: What Lovable Loser Program Do You Root For?

I admit, Indiana is kind of my “crappy team that I secretly root for all the time”. Why? It’s because I feel bad for them, I like any team that throws constantly because of talent deficiencies, and because they aren’t a threat so when Indiana randomly defeats a good team, we all get a good LOL.

QUESTION 1: What crappy or random college football team do you kind of enjoy and secretly root for even though you have no connection?

Boilerman: I like to pull for the little guy, so I pull for Ball State, who at one point in the not so distant past was the second best football program in the state. They had that uncanny ability to knock off power conference teams (Indiana and Virginia) with some quality MACtion.

MC Clap: OTE be damned, I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for Michigan.

Thump: Washington State! Very much kindred spirits with Illinois (“what coach can win here?”), which made me like them even before Mike Leach was throwing 80 times a game. The only time anyone ever talks about them besides on CFB Gameday for the flag is when they have invariably Coug’d It, and to be honest, I don’t even know that much about the traditions of the Palouse even though I like this team. Gimme some Wazzu up in here

WSR: West Fuckin Virginia. They’re almost always fun to watch, and part of that fun is the chaos that’s come with them (From both the teams and the fans) through the years.

BRT: Nebraska counts after last year, I suppose, though I have a connection there. I don’t know, I went to a Cornell game once and it was pretty sad, but I always wished them well. I don’t know. I don’t cheer for teams I have no connection to, I guess. I like when bad teams play and beat Texas (h/t Maryland).

LGHF: The Hoosiers!

Creighton: I’m gonna side with Thump and say Wazzu. My casual Coug fandom started because they were always my team in the NCAA Football videogames (for reasons I no longer remember), and when they hired The Pirate I was completely sold. They’re a fun team and anyone who doesn’t like them just a little bit is probably a Huskies fan.

MNWildcat: As we all know I’m a pretty big Wyoming Cowboys guy. But I don’t think they really qualify as an also-ran, do they? Them and Georgia Tech are my two. Elite fight songs (1-2 in my power rankings), something fun or gimmicky about their football, red-assed coach.

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QUESTION 2: What crappy or disrespected music group/genre/time period do you just love, damn the haters and/or all evidence that says the music is horrendous?

Boilerman: I mean, bad music is in the ear of the beholder. That said, if you’ve ever been to Canada without satellite radio, they have some really bad music. And for whatever reason, I’ll crank it up.

MC Clap: All the music I listen to is fantastic. Sorry you all suck at ears.

Thump: I will fight you if you diss ska. Reel big fish, mustard plug, streetlight manifesto, bosstones...

WSR: Polka is a damn fine form of music and I refuse to believe that anyone would slander it. If they exist, I will beat them with an accordion while wearing lederhosen.

BRT: 90s/early 00s pop. I don’t care if it’s terrible and you don’t like it. The nostalgia makes me love it. I’m pretty sure I can still sing the entirety of N*SYNC’s debut album. “Tearin’ Up My Heart” is a damned masterpiece. (ed note: AGREED)

LGHF: First of all, Milli Vanilli made, like, a ton of listenable bangers. Also, I love all synthpop music from the 1980’s - Thompson Twins, Tears for Fears...I think it holds up too. I’ll take some Wham! too.

Creighton: It’s not really a genre, but I love all music from the 80’s. All of it. I didn’t even live through the 80’s, I just think the music owns. The new wave and post-punk stuff. The synth-heavy pop music that was orders of magnitude more original than today’s shitty pop music. The cheesy heavy metal and glam rock bands. The gritty punk bands. The old hip hop groups. Literally all of it. Except Guns ‘n’ Roses. Fuck those guys.

MNW: Polka. Hell, the Missus and I polka’d at our wedding. I’ll be driving for research to Pierre, Fargo, Cedar Falls, Stevens Point...god help me if at some point, I don’t switch it to a polka station and just let the music take me for a few songs. Everything about it: the rhythm, the instruments I don’t get to hear on the radio, then nostalgia...and then the commercial breaks, where it’s Randy from the Farm Bureau Studio with the Commodities Update. Love polka and small-town polka radio.