Theatre of the Absured, indeed.

Comment thread quickly going the way of “Dear Northwestern Fan”

that the jNW folks would understand satire. As I have said about the Europeans after some team wins a soccer match and burns the city, “And they’re the sophisticated ones.”

This whole thing comes from a manufactured ‘rivalry" dreamed up by Gary Barnett, because jNW didn’t have a rival with a consistent level of success. Ohio State and Michigan weren’t realistic, but since Iowa developed into the most consistent challenger to OSU/Michigan by the early 90s, that was his “target” and he admitted it. That he actually pulled off a league title was and is a great story.

They are, and for the past 15 years have been, the pesky little school with no real shot at consistent success in football, which occasionally beats better teams and, every now and then puts a good season together. They have overachieved, which I respect because we have done the same many times. But that doesn’t change the fact that they are on a different, and lower, athletic plateau than Iowa and, say, Wisconsin, public schools with good academics, though not “elite”, easier entrance requirements, and historically better athletics despite a light local talent pool. Sure, I get frustrated at the fact that we have lost to them far more than we should over the last five years, but that’s our problem. Their problem is that they take a decided dip below their claimed “station” when trying to talk the trash they do, belieing their true “station” by losing sight of their place in the athletic world. But for Gary Barnett, would we be talking with actual seriousness about kicking them out of the Big Ten? I don’t think it would have happened, but it would probably be a legitimate topic among the other member schools. I can’t hate something like that. From an athletic standpoint, jNW, true to its name, is below that.

I’d absolutely love Northwestern if they weren’t Iowa’s Kryptonite, but they are so fuck those guys.