As Dantonio said when he was first hired, history can be an indicator of future success. I often think about my family's history at Michigan State University, especially about what it was like for my grandfather graduating from the school of vet med in 1932. My grandfather could be a SOB. I heard stories about him getting in fist fights with his own son over the Marine Corp, and I remember watching pro wrestling on his lap as a 3 year old and looking up to see a cigarette with an ash on the end of it as long as one of my crayons. But I also know that when he practiced veterinary medicine in Ohio at a time when black people were not viewed as equals, he was the vet that would take care of their animals, and if they were not able to pay, no problem he did it anyway, sometimes for a trade for some delicious catfish. You might say to him, the colors of black and white didn't matter. Green and white did. It is a great story that I am very proud of, but what if it never happened? That is a question I often ask. What if my many uncles, aunts, cousins, and even my wife never went to MSU because a bunch of arrogant asses 60 miles away got their way?
The University has a long history with Michigan State, which can be described according to several wise Spartans with a few details added in by me................
Many believe that the rivalry between MSU and U of M is purely a geographic one, or perhaps merely born out of the two schools differences in heritage and perceived prestige. The classic hostility between the state supported liberal arts university and the state agricultural colleges of old is not unique to Michigan. However, the long standing tension between U of M and MSU runs much deeper than a mere philosophical or geographical argument. If the people of Michigan fully understood the longstanding, programmatic attempts to undermine the growth, development, and success of what is now Michigan State University by the University of Michigan over the past 150 years, perhaps they would then understand our hostility. And perhaps some of that maize and blue department in your local Wal-Mart would be substituted for green and white.
Michigan State University began as the humble Agricultural College of the State of Michigan in 1857, in the face of opposition from the University of Michigan. While the University of Michigan may thumb their nose at MSU’s agricultural heritage today, they in fact sought to have the state agricultural college built in Ann Arbor as a part of the University of Michigan before the East Lansing campus was even established. Thankfully, the Michigan State Agricultural Society, formed in 1849, had the foresight to fight for an agricultural campus independent of the University of Michigan’s control and prevailed with state legislation in 1855 establishing the college. These are important facts to remember when a Walmart Wolverine supporter refers to Michigan State as “Moo-U”.........THEY wanted to be the agricultural college from the beginning.
There is no question that the State Agricultural College in East Lansing had a difficult beginning. Malaria hit the campus hard in the early years, as the swampy Red Cedar area harbored mosquitoes. There were arguments about the role the college should play, whether such a school should be an institution of higher education versus one of vocational training. The Civil War also stunted the growth of the State Agricultural College. The school struggled financially until 1862, when the Morrill-Land Grant Colleges Act donated millions of acres of federal land to be sold in order to fund the establishment of agricultural and mechanical colleges throughout the country. Michigan had already established its State Agricultural College, which could now reap the new funding provided by the Morrill Act and expand........ until the University of Michigan interfered.
The University of Michigan sought to steal the Morrill Act funding which rightfully belonged to the State Agricultural University by lobbying the state legislature to close the East Lansing campus and merge the college into the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The University of Michigan’s supporters in the legislature moved to close the State Agricultural College on FOUR separate occasions between 1863 and 1869. Each time they were rebuffed. However, the constant threat of closure at the hands of the University of Michigan effectively prevented State Agricultural College from making any capital improvements during that time.
Though the threat of closure eventually passed, the attempts to marginalize and restrict the growth of what would be Michigan State University did not cease. U of M supporters opposed the development of an engineering department at Michigan Agricultural College because they duplicated U of M's offerings. Nonetheless the program grew and by 1907, a unified Department of Engineering was formed in a brand new engineering building near the Red Cedar River. Sadly, this building burned to the ground in 1916. In the tragedy, University of Michigan backers saw an opportunity to gain students and funding by proposing a merger of the University and Agricultural College engineering programs, effectively ending the Agricultural College’s engineering department. Thankfully, R.E. Olds saved the program for MAC by donating the funds to construct a new engineering building on the footprint of the burned building. R.E. Olds hall still stands today.
Michigan State University has obviously gone through several name changes throughout the years to reflect its growing influence, and the University of Michigan has fought the changes vehemently. In 1925, Michigan Agricultural College sought state approval to change its name to Michigan State College. The University opposed this changed, and an unwieldy compromise was struck, as the college was officially known as Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science from 1925 to 1955. In 1955, the State of Michigan conferred University status to Michigan State. The University of Michigan sued, fought the name change and again forced the unwieldy compromise of Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science. It took a 1964 Michigan Constitutional Convention to grant MSU its final name.
The University of Michigan has also fought the legitimization of MSU’s athletic program by opposing its inclusion in the Big 10. When the University of Chicago ended all varsity sports and dropped out of the Big 10 in 1946, MSC fought to take its place in the conference. In 1949, MSC was accepted into the Big 10 by the other member schools by a vote of 8 to 1......... and you can likely discern which school provided the dissenting vote.
Several books have been written on this subject and all have come down to the fact these people are a bunch of Arrogant Asses, and that is the one thing that hasn’t changed since the days of Biggie Munn, Duffy, and President Hannah. Nigea Carter, who caught the winning touchdown against Michigan in 1995, spoke at the Downtown Coaches Club luncheon a few years ago and brought up a story about recruiting that further demonstrates the arrogance. Carter had over 60 scholarship offers from around the country including Michigan and Michigan State as a blue chip WR prospect out of the Sunshine State. Carter ultimately selected the Spartans over the Tennessee Vols but was greeted with a surprise on his door step after National Signing Day. An NCAA investigator was on his doorstep to see if there were improprieties committed by the Spartans in recruiting. Carter floored by the accusation asked why he was being investigated. The NCAA investigator informed him that he had right to know where the accusation came from….and it was from the University of Michigan. After all, no blue chip recruit with over 60 scholarship offers could ever pick the inferior Spartans over the powerful Wolverines without cheating.
Arrogant Asses……
On the ride back from Ann Arbor in 2012 I heard Radio Analyst and Michigan Turncoat Doug Karsh wanting to wish all Spartans fans on I-23 and I-96 a safe drive home, and to enjoy “the road back to mediocrity.” Well, after that, we won a Rose Bowl, made the playoff, won 2 more big ten championships and spanked that team down the road 3 straight seasons. But the old blue bloods still saw us as "mediocre" and that trend was only exacerbated with the hiring of their "savior" in khaki pants.
Michigan fans think that our school is “mediocre”, despite trying to keep us from getting an engineering program, law school, medical school, or even changing “College” to “University.”
Michigan fans think that the rivalry with them is third on their list and that we are little brother; or not a rival at all actually, despite the fact that they paid a skywriter thousands of dollars to write “Go Blue” over Spartan stadium while we were playing a I-AA (FCS) opponent.
Coach Dantonio won 8 games, half in dominant fashion, after Mike Hart’s little brother comment. The torch has been passed to a man who has exceeded anyone’s expectations in this rivalry and has proven to be relentless in beating Michigan.
Relentless. It just fits what he has accomplished here at a school where only green and white matters. The first year he got a team ready to bludgeon an arrogant 4 touchdown favorite on their field. They were out worked. They were were out hustled. Relentless. Last year despite being down multiple scores we didn't flinch, we didn't panic, we kept pounding the ball down their throats behind the most dominant performance by a player I've ever seen in the history of the rivalry. Relentless. When they made mistakes late we capitalized. When they flinched, we were relentless.
I haven't missed a Michigan State/Michigan game since the late 90s, and will be there to watch us bring it this year. There have been so many great moments in the rivalry, and when I close my eyes I can still see Bachie batting that ball down at the goal line in 2017. When I close my eyes I can still see from my view of the convoy of players running towards the end zone in 2015. I've never admitted this to anyone before, but while I did see the ball come out, I couldn't tell which one of the players had it, I just saw saw a group of bodies sprinting towards the opposite end zone from me. I will NEVER forget the looks on each of those fans' faces after it either. When I close my eyes I can still see the smile on Duckett's face in the end zone. I don't know if I've ever said this to anyone before, but I was sitting just off the field right by where the band sits now. After the catch and before the pile up, and it was only for a fraction of a second, I saw the smile as he let that ball drop and the ref signaled touchdown. It is something that is just burned into my memory. I can still see Ringer going off, Langford's last run, Caper's OT run, and Walker's last TD. What do all those those plays have in common? We brought it.
Throw the records out. I have no doubt that continues this year as our boys continue to bring it. I recently walked by Olds hall. I took the time to sit there and ponder what that building now means to me. I think that building to me, still standing there, is a symbol and one momentous "F U" to those arrogant asses. Come and take them. This is the one time of year that we get to hit them where it counts, their precious little football team. This is our chance to shove it right back up their arrogant asses on their field. Our team will bring it. We the fans need to bring it. Molṑn Labé. Come and take them. Relentless.
The University has a long history with Michigan State, which can be described according to several wise Spartans with a few details added in by me................
Many believe that the rivalry between MSU and U of M is purely a geographic one, or perhaps merely born out of the two schools differences in heritage and perceived prestige. The classic hostility between the state supported liberal arts university and the state agricultural colleges of old is not unique to Michigan. However, the long standing tension between U of M and MSU runs much deeper than a mere philosophical or geographical argument. If the people of Michigan fully understood the longstanding, programmatic attempts to undermine the growth, development, and success of what is now Michigan State University by the University of Michigan over the past 150 years, perhaps they would then understand our hostility. And perhaps some of that maize and blue department in your local Wal-Mart would be substituted for green and white.
Michigan State University began as the humble Agricultural College of the State of Michigan in 1857, in the face of opposition from the University of Michigan. While the University of Michigan may thumb their nose at MSU’s agricultural heritage today, they in fact sought to have the state agricultural college built in Ann Arbor as a part of the University of Michigan before the East Lansing campus was even established. Thankfully, the Michigan State Agricultural Society, formed in 1849, had the foresight to fight for an agricultural campus independent of the University of Michigan’s control and prevailed with state legislation in 1855 establishing the college. These are important facts to remember when a Walmart Wolverine supporter refers to Michigan State as “Moo-U”.........THEY wanted to be the agricultural college from the beginning.
There is no question that the State Agricultural College in East Lansing had a difficult beginning. Malaria hit the campus hard in the early years, as the swampy Red Cedar area harbored mosquitoes. There were arguments about the role the college should play, whether such a school should be an institution of higher education versus one of vocational training. The Civil War also stunted the growth of the State Agricultural College. The school struggled financially until 1862, when the Morrill-Land Grant Colleges Act donated millions of acres of federal land to be sold in order to fund the establishment of agricultural and mechanical colleges throughout the country. Michigan had already established its State Agricultural College, which could now reap the new funding provided by the Morrill Act and expand........ until the University of Michigan interfered.
The University of Michigan sought to steal the Morrill Act funding which rightfully belonged to the State Agricultural University by lobbying the state legislature to close the East Lansing campus and merge the college into the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The University of Michigan’s supporters in the legislature moved to close the State Agricultural College on FOUR separate occasions between 1863 and 1869. Each time they were rebuffed. However, the constant threat of closure at the hands of the University of Michigan effectively prevented State Agricultural College from making any capital improvements during that time.
Though the threat of closure eventually passed, the attempts to marginalize and restrict the growth of what would be Michigan State University did not cease. U of M supporters opposed the development of an engineering department at Michigan Agricultural College because they duplicated U of M's offerings. Nonetheless the program grew and by 1907, a unified Department of Engineering was formed in a brand new engineering building near the Red Cedar River. Sadly, this building burned to the ground in 1916. In the tragedy, University of Michigan backers saw an opportunity to gain students and funding by proposing a merger of the University and Agricultural College engineering programs, effectively ending the Agricultural College’s engineering department. Thankfully, R.E. Olds saved the program for MAC by donating the funds to construct a new engineering building on the footprint of the burned building. R.E. Olds hall still stands today.
Michigan State University has obviously gone through several name changes throughout the years to reflect its growing influence, and the University of Michigan has fought the changes vehemently. In 1925, Michigan Agricultural College sought state approval to change its name to Michigan State College. The University opposed this changed, and an unwieldy compromise was struck, as the college was officially known as Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science from 1925 to 1955. In 1955, the State of Michigan conferred University status to Michigan State. The University of Michigan sued, fought the name change and again forced the unwieldy compromise of Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science. It took a 1964 Michigan Constitutional Convention to grant MSU its final name.
The University of Michigan has also fought the legitimization of MSU’s athletic program by opposing its inclusion in the Big 10. When the University of Chicago ended all varsity sports and dropped out of the Big 10 in 1946, MSC fought to take its place in the conference. In 1949, MSC was accepted into the Big 10 by the other member schools by a vote of 8 to 1......... and you can likely discern which school provided the dissenting vote.
Several books have been written on this subject and all have come down to the fact these people are a bunch of Arrogant Asses, and that is the one thing that hasn’t changed since the days of Biggie Munn, Duffy, and President Hannah. Nigea Carter, who caught the winning touchdown against Michigan in 1995, spoke at the Downtown Coaches Club luncheon a few years ago and brought up a story about recruiting that further demonstrates the arrogance. Carter had over 60 scholarship offers from around the country including Michigan and Michigan State as a blue chip WR prospect out of the Sunshine State. Carter ultimately selected the Spartans over the Tennessee Vols but was greeted with a surprise on his door step after National Signing Day. An NCAA investigator was on his doorstep to see if there were improprieties committed by the Spartans in recruiting. Carter floored by the accusation asked why he was being investigated. The NCAA investigator informed him that he had right to know where the accusation came from….and it was from the University of Michigan. After all, no blue chip recruit with over 60 scholarship offers could ever pick the inferior Spartans over the powerful Wolverines without cheating.
Arrogant Asses……
On the ride back from Ann Arbor in 2012 I heard Radio Analyst and Michigan Turncoat Doug Karsh wanting to wish all Spartans fans on I-23 and I-96 a safe drive home, and to enjoy “the road back to mediocrity.” Well, after that, we won a Rose Bowl, made the playoff, won 2 more big ten championships and spanked that team down the road 3 straight seasons. But the old blue bloods still saw us as "mediocre" and that trend was only exacerbated with the hiring of their "savior" in khaki pants.
Michigan fans think that our school is “mediocre”, despite trying to keep us from getting an engineering program, law school, medical school, or even changing “College” to “University.”
Michigan fans think that the rivalry with them is third on their list and that we are little brother; or not a rival at all actually, despite the fact that they paid a skywriter thousands of dollars to write “Go Blue” over Spartan stadium while we were playing a I-AA (FCS) opponent.
Coach Dantonio won 8 games, half in dominant fashion, after Mike Hart’s little brother comment. The torch has been passed to a man who has exceeded anyone’s expectations in this rivalry and has proven to be relentless in beating Michigan.
Relentless. It just fits what he has accomplished here at a school where only green and white matters. The first year he got a team ready to bludgeon an arrogant 4 touchdown favorite on their field. They were out worked. They were were out hustled. Relentless. Last year despite being down multiple scores we didn't flinch, we didn't panic, we kept pounding the ball down their throats behind the most dominant performance by a player I've ever seen in the history of the rivalry. Relentless. When they made mistakes late we capitalized. When they flinched, we were relentless.
I haven't missed a Michigan State/Michigan game since the late 90s, and will be there to watch us bring it this year. There have been so many great moments in the rivalry, and when I close my eyes I can still see Bachie batting that ball down at the goal line in 2017. When I close my eyes I can still see from my view of the convoy of players running towards the end zone in 2015. I've never admitted this to anyone before, but while I did see the ball come out, I couldn't tell which one of the players had it, I just saw saw a group of bodies sprinting towards the opposite end zone from me. I will NEVER forget the looks on each of those fans' faces after it either. When I close my eyes I can still see the smile on Duckett's face in the end zone. I don't know if I've ever said this to anyone before, but I was sitting just off the field right by where the band sits now. After the catch and before the pile up, and it was only for a fraction of a second, I saw the smile as he let that ball drop and the ref signaled touchdown. It is something that is just burned into my memory. I can still see Ringer going off, Langford's last run, Caper's OT run, and Walker's last TD. What do all those those plays have in common? We brought it.
Throw the records out. I have no doubt that continues this year as our boys continue to bring it. I recently walked by Olds hall. I took the time to sit there and ponder what that building now means to me. I think that building to me, still standing there, is a symbol and one momentous "F U" to those arrogant asses. Come and take them. This is the one time of year that we get to hit them where it counts, their precious little football team. This is our chance to shove it right back up their arrogant asses on their field. Our team will bring it. We the fans need to bring it. Molṑn Labé. Come and take them. Relentless.
