Having dispatched heavyweights HOCKEY MASSACRE and RUNAWAY UTILITY CART, Will Hagerup faces the ultimate challenge in SBNation's GIF tournament tomorrow when his MORTIFIED MICHIGAN PUNTER faces ROLLERBLADING RAPTORS MASCOT. Tomorrow's epic final matchup marks the first time that the Toronto Raptors have been as scary as their Jurassic Park counterparts since the day when Vince Carter picked up his diploma from UNC.
In both of his last two matchups, MMP has been either close or trailing until an MGoBlog link propelled him to victory, just as the football is propelled into the air off his helmet. Which leads to the question: why does the Michigan fanbase love this GIF so much? Doesn't it seem like most fanbases would be embarrassed by one of their players looking so silly?
Maybe we're more objective about our team, but that's probably not the case. Objectively, HOCKEY MASSACRE and RUNAWAY UTILITY CART were both equally worthy candidates for best GIF, and we dispatched with them in haste. We're proud of MMP, maybe ironically, but we're proud.
Maybe it's because it's relatable. We've all had a most embarrassing moment. Sure, few of us have had it happen in front of 110,000 people and on national television, but we've all had one moment in our lives where we've realized we've screwed up something really, really important and had that feeling of dismay so perfectly encapsulated by Will Hagerup's open-mouthed surprise and terror.
Maybe it's because we have perspective. The last few years haven't been the easiest for Michigan football fans, and we've learned that it isn't always serious business. Sometimes the things we think are the most important and deadly serious in the world are funny and you should always be ready to laugh.
I don't think any of those things are true. I think the reason we love this GIF so much is because we Beat ohio, and thus everything associated with the game is retroactively awesome. Every time we see this image, we get reminded: Michigan beat ohio. I'll vote for that every time.
