Little Brown Jug; Granddaddy of all traveling trophies or just another lame trophy nobody cares about. Discuss.
The Little Brown Jug, Granddaddy of all traveling trophies or Just lame?
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Great trophy w/ history behind it. Went to my first Michigan game in '64 vs. Minnesota and the"JUG"...the boys in blue won 19-12 and proceeded to beat the Buckeyes and represent the B!G in the Rose Bowl vs. Oregon St. and Tommy Prothro...been a huge Michigan fan ever since!
Oh, the trophy is legit but having said that, I wouldn't blame anyone outside of our fan bases if they thought it lame.
You're a Minnesota fan --- if you could only have one in a given year and had a choice, would you rather have the Little Brown Jug (Michigan) or Paul Bunyan's Axe (Wisconsin)? Is your answer different from the answer a majority of Minnesota fans would give?
I don't know --- maybe it's my view from 700 miles away, but it seems like Minnesota fans would care much more about the Axe and Wisconsin. That series also is cool in that it's the 2nd longest continuous rivalry in history (behind Lehigh v Lafayette). Minnesota/Michigan, however is non-continuous: 3 separate breaks in continuity since 1909.
You're a Minnesota fan --- if you could only have one in a given year and had a choice, would you rather have the Little Brown Jug (Michigan) or Paul Bunyan's Axe (Wisconsin)? Is your answer different from the answer a majority of Minnesota fans would give?
I don't know --- maybe it's my view from 700 miles away, but it seems like Minnesota fans would care much more about the Axe and Wisconsin. That series also is cool in that it's the 2nd longest continuous rivalry in history (behind Lehigh v Lafayette). Minnesota/Michigan, however is non-continuous: 3 separate breaks in continuity since 1909.
To answer your question michnittlion, it depends. This year, Wisconsin because of the long drought in the series(they are almost caught up.). At any given time otherwise, the Jug hands down. Winning against Wisconsin. Only Gopher and Badger fans care. A win against even the worst Michigan team in a century(obviously this team is not) means something to the college football world. Most of us Gopher fans that have been around for a while dream of the day when we are spoken in the same sentence as Michigan again.
I don't know --- maybe it's my view from 700 miles away, but it seems like Minnesota fans would care much more about the Axe and Wisconsin. That series also is cool in that it's the 2nd longest continuous rivalry in history (behind Lehigh v Lafayette). Minnesota/Michigan, however is non-continuous: 3 separate breaks in continuity since 1909.
To answer your question michnittlion, it depends. This year, Wisconsin because of the long drought in the series(they are almost caught up.). At any given time otherwise, the Jug hands down. Winning against Wisconsin. Only Gopher and Badger fans care. A win against even the worst Michigan team in a century(obviously this team is not) means something to the college football world. Most of us Gopher fans that have been around for a while dream of the day when we are spoken in the same sentence as Michigan again.
Yes sorry that the U of M administration abandoned our football program for decades. There was a time when the winner of this game most likely was the Rosebowl representative.
Oh well. I am hopeful we will battle you guys and have a chance in the fourth quarter.
Cheers!
The Fighting Jihadists of Ann Arbor (as we were dubbed after the unfortunate happenings in Ann Arbor two weekends ago) are slowly making our way to Minneapolis. FJA is currently waylaid in Kalamazoo arguing about whether we should go over to Ludington and take the ferry across or hoof it around Lake Michigan (damn pond) and proceed toward the Windy (and bloody may I add) City. Suggestions? We still are drinking from gourds we have brought with us, not trusting the unholy, infidel water of the Gophers. We look forward to having our Jug back to drink from during our victorious return march after vanquishing the unholy hoards in yellow and reddish (or whatever hell color you call your unis). Great is Bo! Bo Law lives!
((Bagdad Bob grabs the mic.)) We will have knife wielding Polar Bears, trained in cold waters of Lake Superior, awaiting your arrival. Like the name of the lake they trained at, these Polar Bears are elite(Superior) fighting machines.
l
Should you some how get past these killing machines, you will be defeated by General Goldy Gopher!
Weren't those days in the 1930s because Michigan wasn't all that great from the mid-50s until Bo's coming (PBUH)?
Love the Little Brown Jug, especially the history. There are so many myths about the jug, it's fun to wonder what's true and what's myth. I don't think it's definitively known if the current jug is the original or not because it disappeared for a few years in the 1930s.
Since we will sadly not be playing Minny for a few years to make way for rivals Maryland and Rutgers, I hope Michigan gets the jug back.
Since we will sadly not be playing Minny for a few years to make way for rivals Maryland and Rutgers, I hope Michigan gets the jug back.
You need an in between. I feel like my options are either Filet Mignon or SPAM.
I think it's a pretty cool trophy, and a pretty cool story. I mean it's no keg of nails, bras spittoon, or Illibuck (sarcasm), but it's pretty cool
Well true, but Michigan and Minnesota were also dominant in the early 40's. WWII. Some players played for both Michigan and Minnesota. From what I've been told, Michigan and Minnesota were so dominant that even in those down years(50's) both programs were still in the national conversations.
Growing up in Seattle, I remember my Huskies beating the Gophers in the Rose Bowl ... I'm sure it was an upset, as was their victory over Wisconsin the previous year, so I'm sure Minnesota was good going into the 60's.
We were essentially a second-tier program, wouldn't you say SJB3, from the early 50s until Bo. There was that one Rose Bowl year in 64, but otherwise a lot of mediocre years.
I don't think I'd go as far as to say second tier, but by Michigan standards ... for sure wasn't our best stretch.
Did win B10 Championship and Rose Bowl in 1950 and 1964 (9-1, finished 4th in polls); 2nd in B10 in 1954, 1956, and 1968 (8-2 and finished No. 12 in nation).
Agree, mediocre by our standards, especially compared to the Bo years. I think the Harbaugh era will be very similar to the Bo era, maybe even better ... can't wait for it to unfold!
Yeah I meant mostly by our standards. My Dad told me years ago he thought Oosterbaan just ran the program with the assumption that UM recruited itself and did not work hard to promote the school. He actually thought that Elliott did a good job of recovering from that mindset and set Bo up extremely well to immediately succeed upon arriving in 69. I'm expecting a return to Bo-levels of winning and perhaps beyond (given his early struggles with bowl games).
Yeah I miss my old man, he sure knew a hell of a lot about football (he also had fantastic dirt on how much of a pass ND got from the media and in Heisman voting in the 50s and 60s) and would have loved seeing Jimmy coach our boys.
