Michigan Must Embrace Rivalry With Michigan State

By Travis Newville @travisto989 on October 26, 2014

It is time for a change in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Michigan Wolverines lost yet again, and this time it was another beat down at the hands of the Michigan State Spartans. A game that is often called the “Backyard Brawl” was little more than a schoolyard scrap, and a severely one-sided one at that.

Brady Hoke just doesn’t seem to get the message — either the message from the Wolverines’ fans or even the message from the Spartans’ fans. A literal message was scrawled in the sky above East Lansing; it said “Keep Brady Hoke”. If that slap in the face was not felt by Hoke, then he is simply inhuman.

The rivalry between the two schools runs deep. The Wolverines dominated the Spartans for years. Now, the tides have changed. Mark Dantonio has been the exact opposite of Hoke to his Spartans. He knows the stakes of the game. Dantonio knows that beating the Wolverines is his job, and he wants to win every time they play. Under Dantonio, the Spartans have won six of the last seven games between the two schools.

The Wolverines seem to have lost their edge when they play their inner-state rival. That is why it is time for a change. It’s time for the Wolverines to embrace the Spartans as their biggest rival. Michigan fans are not going to like this, but their team needs to take the Spartans even more seriously than that team from Ohio.

I grew up watching the Wolverines every single Saturday. I know what the Ohio game means to this program. However, I also feel bitter hatred and disgust when I walk through my hometown and see Spartan apparel everywhere. I know what it is like to fight with friends, family and every other Spartan fan in my life. I know what it is like to go to a family gathering and hear my cousins plaster me with jokes.

It is time for the Wolverines to take back the state of Michigan. In no way should their rivalry with the Ohio State Buckeyes cease to exist, but it is time to look at the big picture. This is Michigan, and we need to win back our home state. Nothing should be worse than losing to little brother.

Travis Newville is a Detroit Lions writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow him on Twitter @travisto989, or Like him on Facebook here. Add him to your Google network.