Media's obsession with misleading and insulting NU football factoids

[MRCat95]

If you were watching ESPN Saturday or reading articles on NU's win over Stanford, you probably heard the line, "Northwestern started the season on a winning note for the first time against a ranked team since 1995." What does this factoid imply? To me, it implies that NU has been bad in season openers, especially against ranked teams. Since 1995, NU has played precisely two ranked teams in openers and has defeated both of them. NU has won 16 out 21 total openers (including 10 out of the last 11). In the five losses, none of the opponents were ranked (including Cal, TCU, Air Force, Miami OH & Wake Forest).

Wouldn't the following headline have been just as appropriate and accurate?
"Northwestern remains undefeated in season openers against ranked teams since 1995."

Why does the media like to make every success NU has sound like some sort of one in a million black swan event?

Year H/A Team (record) W/L Score
2015 H Stanford (TBD) W 16-6
2014 H California (5-7) L 24-31
2013 A California (1-11) W 44-30
2012 A Syracuse (8-5) W 42-41
2011 A Boston College (4-8) W 24-17
2010 A Vanderbilt (2-10) W 23-21
2009 H Towson (non-IA) W 47-14
2008 H Syracuse (3-9) W 30-10
2007 H Northeastern (non-IA) W 27-0
2006 A Miami (Ohio) (2-10) W 21-3
2005 H Ohio (4-7) W 38-14
2004 A Texas Christian (5-6) L 45-48
2003 A Kansas (6-7) W 28-20
2002 A Air Force (8-5) L 3-52
2001 A Nevada-Las Vegas (4-7) W 37-28
2000 H Northern Illinois (6-5) W 35-17
1999 H Miami (Ohio) (7-4) L 3-28
1998 H UNLV (0-11) W 41-7
1997 H Oklahoma (4-8) W 24-0
1996 A Wake Forest (3-8) L 27-28
1995 A Notre Dame (9-3) W 17-15

 

[pawildcat]

True enough, MR, but the media doesn't appear to be any harder on us than some of the posters on this board.

 

[villox]

Stats are for losers.

 

[cattul]

1) A certain group of players made '95 the mark against which all subsequent Wildcat teams are compared. It is a knee jerk media reaction, whenever NU meets with success.

2) It reflects a lingering vestige of the dark ages, even among our media alumni. Look no further than the Game Day week before the Ohio State game, during which every semi-famous purple person couldn't wait to trot out some miserable tale from the murky past, before 'marveling' at NU's sudden success. (It drives me crazy when people do this! It is a phenomenon unique to Northwestern, to somehow discount the steadiness of the program over the past two decades.)

 

[Mr. Stupor]

If you were watching ESPN Saturday or reading articles on NU's win over Stanford, you probably heard the line, "Northwestern started the season on a winning note for the first time against a ranked team since 1995." What does this factoid imply? To me, it implies that NU has been bad in season openers, especially against ranked teams. Since 1995, NU has played precisely two ranked teams in openers and has defeated both of them. NU has won 16 out 21 total openers (including 10 out of the last 11). In the five losses, none of the opponents were ranked (including Cal, TCU, Air Force, Miami OH & Wake Forest).

Wouldn't the following headline have been just as appropriate and accurate?
"Northwestern remains undefeated in season openers against ranked teams since 1995."

Why does the media like to make every success NU has sound like some sort of one in a million black swan event?

Year H/A Team (record) W/L Score
2015 H Stanford (TBD) W 16-6
2014 H California (5-7) L 24-31
2013 A California (1-11) W 44-30
2012 A Syracuse (8-5) W 42-41
2011 A Boston College (4-8) W 24-17
2010 A Vanderbilt (2-10) W 23-21
2009 H Towson (non-IA) W 47-14
2008 H Syracuse (3-9) W 30-10
2007 H Northeastern (non-IA) W 27-0
2006 A Miami (Ohio) (2-10) W 21-3
2005 H Ohio (4-7) W 38-14
2004 A Texas Christian (5-6) L 45-48
2003 A Kansas (6-7) W 28-20
2002 A Air Force (8-5) L 3-52
2001 A Nevada-Las Vegas (4-7) W 37-28
2000 H Northern Illinois (6-5) W 35-17
1999 H Miami (Ohio) (7-4) L 3-28
1998 H UNLV (0-11) W 41-7
1997 H Oklahoma (4-8) W 24-0
1996 A Wake Forest (3-8) L 27-28
1995 A Notre Dame (9-3) W 17-15

It is extremely annoying, particularly given the number of NU alums in the sports media and media generally. Somebody had to go out and CONCOCT AND VERIFY that statistic. It's certainly not something people actually knew. And it required a Samuel Clemens-like twist of reality to shoehorn into the classic "NU always loses" narrative. The fact is that hardly ANYBODY in major conferences plays a ranked team as an opener. If they're going to twist facts, why not just report that ND hasn't beaten NU in TWO FULL DECADES now?? Nevermind that we've only played twice. It's a fact, so go ahead and report THAT. I won't hold my breath...

 

[hdhntr1]

If you were watching ESPN Saturday or reading articles on NU's win over Stanford, you probably heard the line, "Northwestern started the season on a winning note for the first time against a ranked team since 1995." What does this factoid imply? To me, it implies that NU has been bad in season openers, especially against ranked teams. Since 1995, NU has played precisely two ranked teams in openers and has defeated both of them. NU has won 16 out 21 total openers (including 10 out of the last 11). In the five losses, none of the opponents were ranked (including Cal, TCU, Air Force, Miami OH & Wake Forest).

Wouldn't the following headline have been just as appropriate and accurate?
"Northwestern remains undefeated in season openers against ranked teams since 1995."

Why does the media like to make every success NU has sound like some sort of one in a million black swan event?

Year H/A Team (record) W/L Score
2015 H Stanford (TBD) W 16-6
2014 H California (5-7) L 24-31
2013 A California (1-11) W 44-30
2012 A Syracuse (8-5) W 42-41
2011 A Boston College (4-8) W 24-17
2010 A Vanderbilt (2-10) W 23-21
2009 H Towson (non-IA) W 47-14
2008 H Syracuse (3-9) W 30-10
2007 H Northeastern (non-IA) W 27-0
2006 A Miami (Ohio) (2-10) W 21-3
2005 H Ohio (4-7) W 38-14
2004 A Texas Christian (5-6) L 45-48
2003 A Kansas (6-7) W 28-20
2002 A Air Force (8-5) L 3-52
2001 A Nevada-Las Vegas (4-7) W 37-28
2000 H Northern Illinois (6-5) W 35-17
1999 H Miami (Ohio) (7-4) L 3-28
1998 H UNLV (0-11) W 41-7
1997 H Oklahoma (4-8) W 24-0
1996 A Wake Forest (3-8) L 27-28
1995 A Notre Dame (9-3) W 17-15

Because it is the only way they have any credibility for ignoring us all those years/

 

[NJCat83588]

1996 A Wake Forest (3-8) L 27-28

Man, I had forgotten all about the Wake debacle.............

 

[hdhntr1]

1) A certain group of players made '95 the mark against which all subsequent Wildcat teams are compared. It is a knee jerk media reaction, whenever NU meets with success.

2) It reflects a lingering vestige of the dark ages, even among our media alumni. Look no further than the Game Day week before the Ohio State game, during which every semi-famous purple person couldn't wait to trot out some miserable tale from the murky past, before 'marveling' at NU's sudden success. (It drives me crazy when people do this! It is a phenomenon unique to Northwestern, to somehow discount the steadiness of the program over the past two decades.)

Maybe because we have so many people in the media that may have lived through the Dark Ages and it is their badge of honor.

 

[MRCat95]

Man, I had forgotten all about the Wake debacle.............

I envy you.

 

[SmellyCat]

It's possible - and I realize this is a reach - that invoking "1995" when discussing Northwestern was a decision made on purpose. That rather than the factoid implying that NU doesn't beat anyone, they're saying, "the last time NU did this was that magical season 20 years ago!"

Like if the real date were 1994 or 1997 you would've gotten something like "NU has won 10 of their last 11 openers" but since the date was 1995 and that date is well-known by NU watchers, they went with that.

As a side note, I often wonder how much non-NU fans remember about 1995 - I always assumed it was none at all, aside from maybe remembering that something happened a long time ago, but I met an Ohio State fan recently who remembers our 1995 run like it was yesterday. He was naming guys off the team and various games and hated Keyshawn Johnson just like he was a real NU fan. I was like, der, Eddie George, and thanks for losing to Michigan, and so on, but remembered nothing else about other 1995 games besides those glorious 12 games we had.

 

[phatcat]

Why does the media like to make every success NU has sound like some sort of one in a million black swan event?

I find it particularly galling because they are simultaneously doing the following equally annoying things. 1) Assuming that Stanford will be great this year (wrong) because they always are - except that they were mediocre for the 20 years preceding Harbaugh and were again last year, and presumably this year. 2) Previously with Vandy and now with Duke, they have somehow instant credibility despite a far more recent history of putridity than we do 3) he11, for that matter, our record in the past 20 years compares reasonably well with Notre Dumb and MichiGag, yet nobody puts us on an even keel with them in terms of "program relevance".

Better question - what is EVERYONE"s record in season openers against ranked opponents? Ours is 1.000 since 95 right? I would guess that the rest of college football is something like .150 win percentage. Most ranked teams play cupcakes the first week, except for the occasional instance of two ranked teams playing each other like UW and Alabama

Or - what is the record of UNRANKED teams playing ranked teams in season openers. Ours is 1.000 since 95. Others?

Mostly the media needs to just STFU. Apologies to Medill grads

 

[kaTNap]

I think we'll always get weird treatment from the media, because so many of them are alums. They don't want to sound like NU homers, so they overcompensate in the opposite direction.

Sometimes, the mask slips, though. One of the ESPN talking heads -- it might have been on Sportscenter -- said on Saturday, "If you're a Northwestern fan, like a lot of the people in this building are ..."

 

[NUCat320]

It is extremely annoying, particularly given the number of NU alums in the sports media and media generally. Somebody had to go out and CONCOCT AND VERIFY that statistic. It's certainly not something people actually knew. And it required a Samuel Clemens-like twist of reality to shoehorn into the classic "NU always loses" narrative. The fact is that hardly ANYBODY in major conferences plays a ranked team as an opener. If they're going to twist facts, why not just report that ND hasn't beaten NU in TWO FULL DECADES now?? Nevermind that we've only played twice. It's a fact, so go ahead and report THAT. I won't hold my breath...

Stats Researcher for any of the major sports media networks is one of the most degrading jobs in the world. You're convinced that you're lockng the dream - sports! - but you're looking for the most stupid, unsubstantial dreck.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Addison Russell of the Cubs had broken a 90-plus year-old record for "longest national league hitting streak exclusively from the ninth spot in the batting order." The only reactions are, "it's dumb that someone had to figure that out," and "geez, I really feel for the kid that had to figure that out."

On the other hand, it's probably also a bit nice to have that job, whose description is, effectively, "Look for stupid stuff."

 

[Sheffielder]

"Northwestern started the season on a winning note for the first time against a ranked team since 1995."

They were clearly cherry-picking the statistic and phrasing it in a way that tells the story they want to tell, that will make casual fans go, "hmm." As I mentioned in another post over the weekend, whether we should be happy about this or not, they are laying the groundwork to make this year's team a story. If we keep winning, then they've planted the seed for people to take interest in us. If we don't, then they move onto the next Boise State (or Stanford, for that matter). Not the first time and won't be the last. I'll admit I definitely got swept up in the "storytelling" the last time they made a us a story vs. Ohio State. It's nice when it works out, or so I would imagine.

This is just the difference between ESPN reporting the news and manufacturing "entertainment." Gotta take the good with the bad. This will change when, if ever, we can chain together more than 2-3 successful seasons at a time. Schools/teams change their stripes all the time - Baylor, TCU, Sparty, and for that matter Stanford weren't always treated like royalty by the Worldwide Leader.

 

[Styre]

It's possible - and I realize this is a reach - that invoking "1995" when discussing Northwestern was a decision made on purpose. That rather than the factoid implying that NU doesn't beat anyone, they're saying, "the last time NU did this was that magical season 20 years ago!"

This, exactly. They were running this stat on the Bottom Line on numerous other broadcasts and followed it up with this parenthetical: (Northwestern went to Rose Bowl that season.)

It's a silly stat because it doesn't account for frequency -- we hadn't opened with a win over a ranked team at home since 1968 or something, either -- but I disagree with the premise that it reflects badly on the program, especially given the huge amount of positive coverage this game received. We don't need to go hunting for insults.

 

[SchizoCat1]

You have just received a lesson in how the New York Times slants the news.

 

[MRCat95]

It's a silly stat because it doesn't account for frequency -- we hadn't opened with a win over a ranked team at home since 1968 or something, either -- but I disagree with the premise that it reflects badly on the program, especially given the huge amount of positive coverage this game received. We don't need to go hunting for insults.

To the casual national fan who doesn't follow NU closely, it says NU stinks in home openers especially against ranked opponents. It's extremely misleading. To the NU fan that's paying attention, it creates confusion.

IMO, it demonstrates a clear (Herculean) effort to paint a false (or misleading) narrative, and I do find that insulting.

 

[NJCat83588]

I envy you.

Ironically, I now live in Winston-Salem NC, home of the Demon Deacons..........

 

[Styre]

IMO, it demonstrates a clear (Herculean) effort to paint a false (or misleading) narrative, and I do find that insulting.

Okay, for the sake of argument I'll concede that it reflects poorly on the program. You're pushing the boat out quite a bit further, though, by alleging deliberate, significant effort on ESPN's part to mislead their viewers into thinking NU is worse than it actually is. Why would they do that? At worst they're trying to create a story to get more eyeballs on their NU broadcasts, but that's a far cry from some sort of deliberate attempt to tear down the program, especially considering the number of NU fans in Bristol.

 

[MRCat95]

You're pushing the boat out quite a bit further, though, by alleging deliberate, significant effort on ESPN's part to mislead their viewers into thinking NU is worse than it actually is. Why would they do that?

Yes, I think that's the case. The motive is to make it a more interesting story than it is. More interesting is not necessarily consistent with honesty.

What's a more interesting headline? What's the more accurate headline?

Styre is good family man.

Or

Styre hasn't been convicted of beating his wife for at least 10 years.

The 2nd one implies that perhaps you beat your wife 11+ years ago or perhaps you've beaten your wife in the past 10 years, but haven't been caught. It's factually true, but dishonest or misleading (and insulting) at the same time.

 

[GlideCat]

Man, I had forgotten all about the Wake debacle.............

We still won a share of the conference championship.

 

[GlideCat]

Yes, I think that's the case. The motive is to make it a more interesting story than it is. More interesting is not necessarily consistent with honesty.

What's a more interesting headline? What's the more accurate headline?

Styre is good family man.

Or

Styre hasn't been convicted of beating his wife for at least 10 years.

The 2nd one implies that perhaps you beat your wife 11+ years ago or perhaps you've beaten your wife in the past 10 years, but haven't been caught. It's factually true, but dishonest or misleading (and insulting) at the same time.

The fact is that among knowledgeable fans, NU beating Stanford was an upset but not a huge upset. As a matter of fact, there were no huge upsets on the week-end. So, the media tried to make our victory into a huge upset by tweaking the facts.

Otherwise, there were no great stories on the week-end.

 

[DonatelloCat]

If you were watching ESPN Saturday or reading articles on NU's win over Stanford, you probably heard the line, "Northwestern started the season on a winning note for the first time against a ranked team since 1995." What does this factoid imply? To me, it implies that NU has been bad in season openers, especially against ranked teams. Since 1995, NU has played precisely two ranked teams in openers and has defeated both of them. NU has won 16 out 21 total openers (including 10 out of the last 11). In the five losses, none of the opponents were ranked (including Cal, TCU, Air Force, Miami OH & Wake Forest).

Wouldn't the following headline have been just as appropriate and accurate?
"Northwestern remains undefeated in season openers against ranked teams since 1995."

Why does the media like to make every success NU has sound like some sort of one in a million black swan event?

Year H/A Team (record) W/L Score
2015 H Stanford (TBD) W 16-6
2014 H California (5-7) L 24-31
2013 A California (1-11) W 44-30
2012 A Syracuse (8-5) W 42-41
2011 A Boston College (4-8) W 24-17
2010 A Vanderbilt (2-10) W 23-21
2009 H Towson (non-IA) W 47-14
2008 H Syracuse (3-9) W 30-10
2007 H Northeastern (non-IA) W 27-0
2006 A Miami (Ohio) (2-10) W 21-3
2005 H Ohio (4-7) W 38-14
2004 A Texas Christian (5-6) L 45-48
2003 A Kansas (6-7) W 28-20
2002 A Air Force (8-5) L 3-52
2001 A Nevada-Las Vegas (4-7) W 37-28
2000 H Northern Illinois (6-5) W 35-17
1999 H Miami (Ohio) (7-4) L 3-28
1998 H UNLV (0-11) W 41-7
1997 H Oklahoma (4-8) W 24-0
1996 A Wake Forest (3-8) L 27-28
1995 A Notre Dame (9-3) W 17-15

i had similar thoughts for the "first win over stanford since [the 50's?]" that had been thrown out several times (e.g. fitz's sportscenter interview) . . . we haven't even played them in decades, and the last time we did, it was a tie!

 

[pawildcat]

You have just received a lesson in how the New York Times slants the news.

And another in how the New York Times has become the big, bad liberal media bogeyman.