Hello and welcome to the inaugural edition of the Spartans Wire Michigan State GIF Tournament!!
GIF tournaments are nothing new on the ol’ interwebs, but I can’t recall an MSU-specific tournament, so I’m just going to ride with the idea that this one is the first one.
A few notes before we jump into this.
A. The GIFs were chosen through nominations on social media and through searches on the internet. A number of GIFs were locks for the tournament, but we did have to do some searching and whittling to fill out the bracket.
B. This bracket has 32 GIFs in four regions. Why 32? Well, 64 is a lot and would have wiped out the entire history of MSU GIFs. I’m sure we missed some in this tournament that can be used in future tournaments.
C. The voting will be done exclusively on this website. The layout is super simple. There will be a pair of GIFs on a page, a description and a speedometer slider. Just click that speedometer and drag it to the side you think is the winner.
D. This entire tournament will be in slideshow format. Yes, I know. Slideshows. The reason for this is simple: the way this type of story (one that is very long and fill of images/GIFs) would layout on a single page would be a disaster. We have auto-inserted boxes w/ scores and other news, etc. that would get in the way and things would get separated and every adjustment made requires another adjustment down the line. Separating them all on individual pages will make it look better and be so much easier to put together.
E. Voting will be open until midnight eastern time the day after the region was posted. So the Dantonio region, which goes up on Monday, will finish at midnight on Tuesday into Wednesday.
E. Voting for all regions will be open until Friday night at midnight, eastern time.
F. This is just a way for us all to have fun and waste a week of sports-less summer, so keep it cool. The seeding was not done scientifically. It’s an entirely subjective experience. And it’s fun. So have fun!
Click here to vote on the Dantonio Region GIFs
Let’s get to the Tom Izzo Region:
#1 WTF?! vs. #8 Head in Hands
Yes, every single GIF in the Tom Izzo region includes Tom Izzo. I didn’t set out on that path, but fate intervened. Originally the regions were just generic MSU names and I was able to link together the #1 seeds and the region names so it made some sense. Then, I started going through Tom Izzo GIFs and realized I had an entire region of material.
This is a heavy-hitting #1 seed. It’s a wonderful GIF. It’s quick, concise and hilarious.
We all know this Tom Izzo. We all love this Tom Izzo. There might not be a more entertaining thing in college hoops than an exasperated Tom Izzo and this GIF is perfectly that. I’d be shocked if it didn’t come out of this region, despite how absolutely loaded it is.
The #8 seed here is strong and against a more meek #1 seed might have a chance at an upset.
Tom Izzo freezes in time better than anybody. He really does. I kind of feel bad because he’s been so successful and so many of his best GIFs are him in anguish. That’s when he’s at his most GIF-able and this one is a prime example of that. Just watch it for a minute. He holds the same pose for a good seven seconds. It’s the same response he’d have if he just witnessed a terrible tragedy like his dog getting eaten by an alligator.
#2 Costello’s Big Hug vs. #7 Frozen Izzo Face
The fight for the #2 seed was tough and you can make an argument for a number of GIFs. However, I went with one that was just pure, uncut joy.
Sometimes I think we forget that Tom Izzo is about 5’6 and 160 lbs. and that he coaches kids who generally range from 6′ 180 lbs. to 6’10 260 lbs.. He works amongst literal giants; athletic marvels of nature. And to watch Matt Costello turn one of the greatest and most respected college basketball coaches of our time into a child’s toy was just an absolute treat. It’s also a nice reminder of what Tom Izzo’s players think of him. Also, everyone is enjoying the hell out of the moment except for Dane Fife and Dwayne Stephens. The game is essentially over, MSU just got a huge win onSenior Day and they don’t even have time to celebrate. The stoicism on these two is incredible.
It takes on a remix of the #8 seed…
This one got the nod at #7 because it’s just so close on Izzo’s face and it’s a well constructed GIF. I can’t tell where this GIF begins or ends. It’s almost a perfect loop. If it weren’t for the person in the background it was seemingly be endless. I love this GIF, but it’s just in a stacked region.
#3 Izzo Head Rub vs. #6 Tom Doesn’t Want Your Hug, Miles
Boy oh boy does the #3 seed make me smile.
TOM IZZO HAS NEVER BEEN HAPPIER.
If you asked me for the GIF I thought had the best chance to make a surprise deep run in the tournament, it’s this one. I do think the #1 and/or #2 seeds will make up the Final Four, but I’m not looking passed this one. Look at that smile. The joy! I love how Izzo is pushing into their hands like a puppy. I’m sure in reality he was trying to get their hands off him, but he’s just so happy and with the smile it looks like he’s just a happy and loved dog.
This Final Four run was so unexpected and fun to watch as a fan and on top of that produced this amazing GIF.
I can’t even believe how strong the #6 seed is . . .
Holy crap this is so funny. Tom Izzo hug GIFs are the absolute best. And the “Noooooo, F$#% that!” just makes it perfect. Miles clearly knows he messed up and just wants to say he’s sorry and “let’s make this all go away” and Izzo is NOT having it. I don’t know if there’s ever been a worse hug between two people who genuinely love each other. This has to be high on that list. What a strong #6 seed. This GIF makes me laugh every time.
#4 The Ladder Dance vs. #5 The Eye Roll
Oh man what a blood bath we have here. Two excellent GIFs that can beat anybody. Let’s start with the #4 seed . . .
A rare GIF that isn’t from a game, which makes it all the more special. Staged moments can make for good GIFs, but they just aren’t as good as the genuine ones. Sparty dancing for a BTN commercial is fun and all, but it’s just not the same as something authentic. Here you have an attempt at something being staged, but instead something genuine happens. There’s no way the intention of this exercise was to produce this result. I don’t even remember if this was a commercial, or a promo, or part of a hype video or whatever. It wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. Tom Izzo wasn’t supposed to be a dancing dork. But he was and it did. And we’re all the better for it.
It takes on a notorious Tom Izzo moment . . .
Here are some things you could say to get this reaction out of a normal person.
“I want a divorce.”
“You’re fired”
“Sorry I spent your retirement money.”
“Go *bleep* yourself.”
“Do you want ketchup with your steak?”
I went back and watched this interview to see if anything was weird about it and there really wasn’t. It wasn’t the best interview in the world, but it wasn’t notably bad or anything like that. The reaction here is 100% to the way MSU played in the first half. They were down 28-21 at home against an Ohio State team in a matchup of top-five teams. It was one of *those* first halves. They had to repaint the locker room walls after the game.
But my god what a reaction. Tom Izzo was so damn mad at his team and the refs and the whole night and he just had to stop and do this interview and all it did for him was take away one minute of ass chewing he was saving for the team. MSU won 72-68.
