Ryan Wooley: Summing Up The Rivalry In One Word
If I was asked to sum up what the Michigan/Michigan State rivalry means to me in one word, I think the word I would have to use is "payback".
Ever since I was a kid I always gravitated to the Spartans. There was just something about the team that I liked over Michigan. Maybe it was the colors, the team name, or just the way their old scowling Spartan head logo looked, but I decided at a young age that I would be a Spartan.
Unfortunately for me, that choice seemed to be the wrong one in my neighbor's eyes who was as die-hard as you can get for Michigan. Every Saturday he would put on "The Victors" and "Let's Go Blue" prior to every game as loud as he could, and wave a Michigan flag in his backyard after the game for me to see. He would also take the time to belittle not only me throughout the season, but his own son for even thinking of wearing the Green and White and associating ourselves with a "lesser team".
For years it seemed that he would get the last laugh because MSU would only win once every couple of years, and the years they did win, he would just stick his nose in the air and say they got lucky or Michigan State didn't win the game--Michigan lost it. Even with his excuses though, I never missed my chance to try and stick it back to him by standing in his yard and doing the same thing he did to me by waving my MSU flag and telling him how much Michigan sucked.
Now days though, things have obviously changed. We're both older and there is no flag waving on either side. Sure, there is still smack talk that goes on, but as I look back, I can chuckle because he was (and still is) the stereotypical arrogant Michigan fan that can't accept losing to State and this three year dominance by the Spartans is pure payback for me after all the years of suffering I went through as a kid. I only hope MSU can make it four straight on Saturday so I can hear his latest excuse, or see if he has finally come around. GO GREEN!
