Ten years later, John L. Smith talks Mike Valenti's epic MSU rant
It’s been 10 years since Mike Valenti’s voice crumbled as he demolished Michigan State’s football program in the wake of its meltdown loss in the rain to Notre Dame. “The Rant” has taken on legendary status among Spartan fans since it went viral nationally.
Valenti rarely talks about it these days. On Friday, his WXYT 97.1-FM cohorts Jeff Riger and Evan Jankins convinced him to revisit it, then surprised the radio host on the air with a blast from his gravelly voice past.
While interviewing Valenti about “The Rant,” Riger played him audio clips from former MSU coach John L. Smith about the epic 18-minute diatribe from Sept. 25, 2006 – two days after the Spartans’ meltdown loss to Notre Dame.
To rewind: As MSU celebrated the 40th anniversary of its 10-10 tie with Notre Dame game, the 2006 Spartans blew a 16-point, fourth-quarter lead as the Fighting Irish and Brady Quinn stormed back for a 40-37 victory.
- From the archives: 'Game of the Century'
The following Monday, Valenti eviscerated Smith, his MSU coaching staff and players, H.R. Puffinstuff and Teddy Ruxpin. The radio host’s voice creaked and cracked, screeching that the Spartans “choked on applesauce” (among other colorful, timeless insults). Eventually, Valenti left himself virtually hoarse by the time he finished and had to miss two days of work.
A little more than a month later, MSU announced it was firing Smith at the end of the 2006 season. Mark Dantonio was hired to replace him. “The Rant” remains legendary on the internet and among Spartan fans.
Smith claims he never heard Valenti’s verbal screed, and Valenti said he believes him.
Riger asked Smith if Valenti got him fired. Smith chuckled.
“Well, he may have,” admitted Smith, who now coaches Division II Kentucky State. “At least contributed to it. Yeah. Again, like I said, if that’s your claim to fame, then God bless you. Put that on your headstone as well. That's a lot to speak about, I guess.”
Valenti disagreed, citing the Spartans’ loss the following week to a bad Illinois team.
“I think it helped,” said Valenti, an MSU grad. “I think it got people’s attention. And I think a lot of Spartans acted out on it.”
Valenti said he would “be an idiot to deny” that his rant put him on the radio map. He sheepishly admitted he doesn’t like hearing it now.
“The idealistic kid in me, when I was 25, I felt like I was standing up for Spartan fans,” Valenti said. “I felt like I was saying the things that they wanted to say but they didn’t have the medium to do it. So yes, in that sense, I felt good.
“But no, I think we’ve done things that are so much better than that, that were funnier than that. I just feel like I wish people appreciated the rest of the stuff.”