Are the Wolverines finally on track or is the rug about to be pulled out from under us?
This feeling is definitely annoying and I seem to get it every year. Michigan wins a bunch of games and plays well, but my first emotion isn't excitement. Instead, I get t his underlying sense that I'm being deceived. I feel like Charlie Brown.
I see the football.
I get excited at the idea of finally kicking the football.
Lucy promises me that it will be different this time.
This time, I'll get to kick the football.
Everything is going great!
I run up as fast I can.
I draw my foot back!
This is it!
I go to kick the ball!
There I am. On my back again as OSU, MSU, and PSU blow us out.
In this metaphor, the Jim Harbaugh era is Lucy, and Wolverine fans are Charlie Brown. We fans don't have too much to complain about. Michigan has rarely been awful with Harbaugh as the coach. Perhaps, the success of the past has spoiled us. Perhaps, the SEC is just too good anyways. But something about Michigan football and accepting mediocrity just doesn't sit right with me I can't help but look across the border and see the Buckeyes continue their success despite the SEC dominance.
We want a slice of that pie, too. We don't want to eat at the kid's table anymore. We want Lucy to let us kick the ball.
So, is U of M for real? Hard to say. The opponents they've played so far are not comparable to the competition that lies ahead. Starting with this weekend's matchup against MSU, the Wolverines need to be able to move the ball through the air and allow fewer big plays from the opposing offense.
This week we'll find out if Lucy is tricking us again or if we'll finally get to launch that ball into space.
Of course, this weekend could just be the setup for the bigger fall. Michigan could beat MSU and PSU and believe in our hearts the this is finally the year that we beat OSU and go to the college football playoffs.
The fact that I sound like a kid on Christmas Eve reveals how sure I am that Lucy is going to pull the ball away. It's tempting to hope it happens this weekend.
Or do we dare to believe?
Is this not media hype surrounding the Michigan brand? Is it finally our time? Is Jim Harbaugh going to prove that he is more than an 8-4 coach? Is our early season success not an indicator of playing lesser teams, but a preview of something greater?
These are the types of questions that proceed Lucy pulling the football away before we kick.
I'm going to proceed cautiously. I think the Wolverines can win this weekend. The quarterback play has been consistent enough and the defense stout enough. They've come from behind and not folded at the first sign of adversity.
I want to believe. I want to finally not feel completely neutered when talking to my Ohio State friends.
Perhaps, Charlie Brown will blast that ball into space.