密歇根新闻广播 密歇根两所橄榄球队的战争

 

This Saturday, for the 112th time, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University will fight over a football for 60 minutes.

During the year’s other 364 days, the two schools’ coaches, players, and fan bases produce enough adolescent sniping and sophomoric¹ stunts² to fill a book— in fact, several.

The trash talk started between the two schools before there were two schools. In 1855, after the University of Michigan lost its bid for the new agricultural college, a UM professor warned the new school “cannot be more than a fifth-rate affair.”

That proved false. Michigan State became not merely a good school, but a world-class research university.

But that didn’t stop Michigan’s legendary³ coach and athletic⁴ director, Fritz Crisler, from trying to block Michigan State from joining the Big Ten. When that failed, Michigan State started playing in the Big Ten in 1953, the same year the Governor created the Paul Bunyan trophy⁵ to go to the game’s winner. The Wolverines publicly pledged that if they won the trophy they would leave it on the field.

No matter: Michigan lost, 14–6.

The Spartans⁷ got their revenge in 1973, after Michigan and Ohio State tied 10–10 to finish with identical, undefeated records. With no tie-breaker in place, the Big Ten left its Rose Bowl invitation to a vote of the athletic directors. When Michigan State athletic director Bert Smith explained to Spartan⁶ alumni why he cast his vote for Ohio State, he received thunderous applause.

After a relatively⁸ calm four decades, the pettiness picked up in 2007. When Appalachian State upset the Wolverines, Michigan State’s first-year coach Mark Dantonio sarcastically⁹ asked for “a moment of silence.” Michigan’s Mike Hart returned the favor by calling the Spartans “Little Brother.” The Wolverines won, 28-24.

In 2013, former Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon hired a skywriter to spell “GO BLUE” over East Lansing— then lied about it, until records proved his department had paid for it. Before the Michigan State game that year a couple dozen Michigan players made a show of plunging¹⁰ a big tent spike¹¹ into the Spartans’ field— only to get crushed, 35–11, and prompt Michigan coach Brady Hoke to apologize the next day.

Before last year’s game the Wolverines didn’t need any extra gunpowder¹² to get ready, but the Spartans gave them some anyway. When the Wolverines took the field for warm-ups, Dantonio led his team in their ritual pre-game march down the field, interfering¹³ with a few Wolverines and grabbing one of the players’ headsets. Michigan’s Devin Bush Jr. responded by scuffing¹⁴ up the Spartans’ logo at midfield.

Once again, it was on. A motivated Michigan squad¹⁵ won that day, 21-7.

If you added up all the slights and cheap shots between these two they would probably shake out about even— though the final tally¹⁶ would likely depend on who was doing the adding.

Unlike the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry¹⁷, with Michigan-Michigan State the fans are generally respectful toward each other. Almost everyone in the state has friends who went to both schools, creating a week of harmless ribbing.

But the respect stops with the spectators. The football players have harbored a genuine hate for each other going back at least seven decades—a noted¹⁸ contrast to the mutual¹⁹ respect between the schools’ basketball coaches and players.

The tension between the two current football coaches is sky high.

The Spartans’ Mark Dantonio won a school-record eight of ten games against the Wolverines, but against Jim Harbaugh he’s 2-and-2. If Dantonio steps down after this season, as many believe he will, this weekend’s game would be the final tie-breaker between these two – and I’m certain they both know it.

These two do not like each other. They do not respect each other. And if either one can run up 50 points on the other, I bet they’re going to do it.

One of these years, both teams will simply shut up and play the game, to the end, without incident. But I don’t see that happening any time soon.

This rivalry is alive and well.

John U. Bacon is the author of seven national bestsellers, most recently Overtime²⁰: Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines at the Crossroads of College Football.

1 sophomoric   

adj.一知半解的；大学或四年制中学的二年级的

参考例句：

• Do you really believe that sophomoric argument?你当真相信那种幼稚可笑的论点吗？
• As a sophomoric student,it's very happy for me to receive invitation.作为一个二年级的学生，能收到邀请，我自然感到特别开心。

2 stunts   

n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He did all his own stunts. 所有特技都是他自己演的。
• The plane did a few stunts before landing. 飞机着陆前做了一些特技。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

4 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

5 trophy   

n.优胜旗，奖品，奖杯，战胜品，纪念品

参考例句：

• The cup is a cherished trophy of the company.那只奖杯是该公司很珍惜的奖品。
• He hung the lion's head as a trophy.他把那狮子头挂起来作为狩猎纪念品。

6 spartan   

adj.简朴的，刻苦的；n.斯巴达；斯巴达式的人

参考例句：

• Their spartan lifestyle prohibits a fridge or a phone.他们不使用冰箱和电话，过着简朴的生活。
• The rooms were spartan and undecorated.房间没有装饰，极为简陋。

7 spartans   

n.斯巴达（spartan的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The ancient Spartans used to expose babies that they did not want. 古斯巴达人常遗弃他们不要的婴儿。
• But one by one the Spartans fell. 可是斯巴达人一个一个地倒下了。

8 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

9 sarcastically   

adv.挖苦地，讽刺地

参考例句：

• 'What a surprise!' Caroline murmured sarcastically.“太神奇了!”卡罗琳轻声挖苦道。
• Pierce mocked her and bowed sarcastically. 皮尔斯嘲笑她，讽刺地鞠了一躬。

10 plunging   

adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• War broke out again, plunging the people into misery and suffering. 战祸复发，生灵涂炭。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• He is plunging into an abyss of despair. 他陷入了绝望的深渊。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

12 gunpowder   

n.火药

参考例句：

• Gunpowder was introduced into Europe during the first half of the 14th century.在14世纪上半叶，火药传入欧洲。
• This statement has a strong smell of gunpowder.这是一篇充满火药味的声明。

13 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

14 scuffing   

n.刮[磨，擦，划]伤v.使磨损( scuff的现在分词 )；拖着脚走

参考例句：

• The rest of us started giggling, scuffing our feet on the floor. 全班的同学都在笑，把地板擦得很响。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
• Wade edged closer to him, scuffing one foot and looking unhappy. 韦德向他靠近些，一只脚在地板上擦来擦去，显得很不高兴。 来自飘（部分）

15 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

16 tally   

n.计数器，记分，一致，测量；vt.计算，记录，使一致；vi.计算，记分，一致

参考例句：

• Don't forget to keep a careful tally of what you spend.别忘了仔细记下你的开支账目。
• The facts mentioned in the report tally to every detail.报告中所提到的事实都丝毫不差。

17 rivalry   

n.竞争，竞赛，对抗

参考例句：

• The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
• He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。

18 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

19 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

20 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。