My brother and his wife are Michigan alums, my father and I are MSU alums. It's fun around our family. My sister's family are all rabid Wolverine fans. I can say without a doubt that for them, considering our family situation, the MSU-UM game is a bigger deal than the OSU game. That could have something to do with the fact that Michigan hasn't had much hope in beating the Buckeyes for the better part of a decade now.
Like most other college football fans, it's not Michigan Football that I can't stand, it's their fans. The arrogance is unparalleled in college sports. For a team that's shared one National Title in 60 years, and hasn't beaten either of their 2 main rivals in several years, you'd think that some perspective would have been gained. That, and that fact that most Michigan fans have absolutely no affiliation with the school, yet they still refer to Michigan as "we". What's this "we" stuff? You didn't go there, no one you know went there, so refer to them as Michigan, not "we"! That's what perpetuates the "Walmart Wolverine" stereotype of which Michigan fans are now famous for. Also, more than any other fans I am around, including Ohio State and Notre Dame's, Michigan fans root against teams. The vast majority of Big Ten fans root for the Big Ten regardless. I root for OSU, Michigan, Wisconsin etc. when they aren't playing State because I want the Big Ten to be looked upon favorably nationwide.
Also, you haven't won 13 national titles or whatever you now claim, you've won 5 or 6 legitimate NCs and only 1 shared in the last 60 years or so. Also, no one cares that you've won more games than anyone else, that simply means you've been playing longer than just about anyone. Are you honestly proud of victories over Junior College and High School teams around the turn of the last century? Hell, you don't hear Sparty mention the National Titles from the 50s and 60s that we've won, it's ancient history and no one cares about Biggy Munn or Duffy Daugherty anymore than they care about Fielding Yost.
State fans are more pragmatic, we've snatched defeat from the jaws of victory more times than the Lions. Given this we appreciate the teams we've had that have beaten Michigan. It's 3 in a row and if we can hold serve Saturday (we're 3 point favorites) the MSU 4th year seniors will finish their careers undefeated vs Michigan. If that happens, Michigan fans will still be pretending they have some affiliation with school and say "it's a fluke, they we're lucky, WE'LL get them next year."
Dantonio has built a good program in East Lansing now and it's built to last I think. Looks like Hoke has Michigan back on track and that's a good thing to me. I think this rivalry can go to the next level as far as National Prominence goes if both these programs continue to trend upwards.
