I bleed Maize and Blue

It's before 9am on a Sunday and I'm writing a blog. This is a bit unusual for me, since I'm typically not up at 8am on Sunday unless: 1) I'm scheduled to run or 2) I have someone I need to be. Neither of those things pertain today (though I do need to run at some point).

Anyway, my sleep was kind of crappy last night and I woke up early this morning to find a status update on Facebook that in some ways makes me giggle and in some ways just angers me.

So here I am, writing this blog. It's about sportsmanship and my beloved Michigan Wolverines.

Disclaimer (for those of you that will be quick to point out that I'm a "Walmart Wolverine" based on the school that shows up first on  my Facebook profile):

Oh wait, here's another disclaimer: I really only "dislike" two schools in the NCAA: Notre Dame and Ohio State. I cheer for MSU when they aren't playing Michigan and especially when they're playing either of the above two teams. 

Now that that's out of the way, here we go.

By my account, I have more than one Facebook friend that is an MSU fan. Many of them are quite congenial, but there are some that just insist that anyone who didn't go to UM and cheers for them is a "Walmart Wolverine".

I get it. There are people that just randomly pick a team to like and go with it. But guess what? That's their choice? If they choose to like MSU but didn't go there, are they a "Walmart Spartan"? No, because that's ok - fans are fans! Do you think EVERYONE in Spartan Stadium on Game Day went there? (This applies to other schools also.) I sure hope not!

By their definition, my dad, mom and brother would be considered Walmart Wolverines. Never mind that my dad had the dream to play college football at UM and that ended when his knee blew out late in his HS career. Never mind that a sister or daughter was the first in the family to graduate with a college degree from the school that she knew she was going to and worked her ass off to get into since birth.

By their definition, another friend who has a legacy in her family at UM, but chose to attend another school for her own reasons (she got into UM, FYI) is a Walmart Wolverine.

By their definition, yet another friend who applied to UM, got in, but hit a hurdle and couldn't afford to go there is a Walmart Wolverine.

Are there UM fans that are obnoxious? Sure. But there are plenty of obnoxious fans no matter which school you go to. And in my experience, I have seen some pretty rude and obnoxious MSU fans in my time in Lansing (which is going on 8 years or so).

So, for those of you that insist on always making comments about that "other in-state school", take some pride in your home team and cheer for them without tearing others down. When all the schools in Michigan do well, WE all do well.

I will ALWAYS bleed Maize and Blue. My team is my team and I love them regardless of their record. 

It's great to be a Michigan Wolverine!