A House Divided

When I first started following football, the Detroit Lions and Michigan Wolverines were my favorite teams.  The Lions were an obvious choice because they played a few miles away from Royal Oak at Briggs Stadium .  The quarterbacks back then were Bobby Layne and Tobin Rote.  I listened to the games on the radio because the local TV stations couldn’t show them.  They were “blacked out”.

About that same time I started caring about college football.  The University of Michigan and Michigan State were the two big  schools in Michigan and the subject of a huge rivalry.  I rooted for Michigan because 1) they were the underdogs at the time and 2) I like their school colors better. Bump Elliot was the head coach of Michigan and Duffy Daugherty was the coach at Michigan State.  Duffy had his way with Bump most years.  I thought maize and blue was cooler than green and white.  Shallow but true.  I don’t hate Michigan State, I just prefer Michigan.

I root for Michigan State except when they play Michigan.  Heck, I received my Specialist Degree from Michigan State, but that was after twenty-five years of rooting for Michigan.

In contrast, Ruth graduated from Michigan State and hates all things Michigan.  The only thing we have in common regarding the Michigan – Michigan State rivalry is we both hate Ohio State.  That’s the tie that binds.

When David, Elizabeth and Michael were young, the girls rooted for Michigan State and the boys rooted for Michigan.  We sported t-shirts and sweatshirts to demonstrate our allegiance.  We watched the games together and tried to out yell each other.  While we supported all things Michigan and Michigan State, we focused on the football and basketball teams.  We still do, however, there’s been a change in our alliances.

I had a simple piece of advice for the three kids when they started college.  Go to a school that excels in the field you wish to pursue.  When Michael decided on hospitality as his field of study, Michigan State was the obvious choice.  A couple of years later, when Elizabeth sought her masters degree in social work, the University of Michigan was ranked number one in the country.  New experiences brought new alliances.  Michael went “green and white” while Elizabeth turned “maize and blue”.  When Michael married Kate, the rivalry was enhanced because she graduated from the University of Michigan.  Game on!

We all watched the Michigan – Michigan State game last week-end with great anticipation.  Ruth left the house opting to watch away from me.  She said, “I’ll be a bad sport, no matter what, so I’ll watch the game elsewhere”.  She took off for much of the afternoon knowing she’d be greatly disappointed if Michigan State lost, and rub it in my face if they won.  With age, comes wisdom.

When the game was over, Ruth and Michael celebrated, while Elizabeth, Kate, David, and I let out a collective, “Oh s&#$!”   We are a house divided.

Moving forward, I hope both teams win their remaining games.  Ruth won’t be supportive of the University of Michigan as she has a single allegiance to her alma mater with one great exception.  She’ll set her differences aside for one day this fall, November 27th, because “Oh how we hate Ohio State!”