You know how Western Michigan’s thing has been “ROW THE BOAT” for the past few years? Yes, I know, it’s silly. But PJ Fleck is a wizard and he’s got WMU undefeated and ranked and he can do pretty much whatever he wants.
Akron broke an oar to mock WMU’s ‘Row The Boat’ mantra. Akron lost by 41.
Don’t make fun of Western Michigan. They’re for real.
Anyway, Saturday WMU played Akron, so the Zips played off that with some pregame hype stuff:
There’s no video of the oar-breaking, but I’d imagine it looked somewhat like this, from Marshall’s coaches a few years ago. (Strength and conditioning coaches are wild people.)
(Note: Although multiple people affiliated with WMU claimed Akron burned the oar, a spokesperson for Akron reached out to clarify that Akron did not burn an oar, but merely broke it.)
Fleck was not entertained.
The result? A 41-0 Western Michigan win. Their final score came on a 4th down up 34-0. They went for it on fourth down up 34-0. They were mad.
Yes, we know: Western Michigan is in Kalamazoo, not directly on any meaningful bodies of water. And Broncos don’t go in boats, and if they did, they couldn’t row them.
BUT DO NOT MAKE FUN OF THE ROW THE BOAT THING. Western Michigan is for real, and they’re coming for the MAC title (and maybe a New Year’s Six bowl game if they’re undefeated.) Making fun of the Row The Boat thing will not help you win; it will only lead to the Broncos sprinkling salt on the earth while rowing the boat over you.
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